The marriage contract
by broomstick flyer
Summary: Harry and Hermione recieve quite a surprise on his seventeenth birthday, Romantic novella, includes some mythical things.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer, If I owned Harry Potter I would never have brought Ron Weasley back into DH after he deserted the hero and heroine. So I definitely am not JK Rowling. Nor do I own any part of the two songs, or the clips from said songs.

A/Note There are portions of two songs in the first part of this story.

The first song clip is from the Troggs 1967 hit.

The second song clip is from the Hermans Hermits 1968 hit.

The Marriage contract.

Early on the morning of his seventeenth birthday Harry Potter woke from an unusual dream, looking out of the window he stared at the rising sun as the dream re-ran through his mind, the dream was unusual in that it was so realistic, there were no odd leaps or changing scenes, no odd people appearing, the dream was a perfect replay right down to the tiniest detail of a day that had actually happened during his first year at Hogwarts school.

_It was the day before the Hogwarts express took the students home for Christmas, and Harry was taking a walk with Hermione, they had been inseparable since the day Harry and Ron had saved her from a troll, every day they had been together since, the only time they had been apart was while Harry recovered after dealing with a Voldemort possessed Quirrell. Even Ron had not been able to keep them apart, and they both knew he did not like Hermione, in fact the furthest they had been apart was when Harry played Quidditch, even then she was always in the front row of the Gryffindor supporters. As they walked slowly towards their friend Hagrid's cabin, they chatted as any other eleven year olds did, they had just finished laughing at a comment Harry had made about Ron's ears turning red, Hermione suddenly stopped laughing, looking at Harry with a tear in her eye she said quietly "I wish you had a family to go home to at Christmas, this is a time for families." _

_When Harry turned and looked into Hermione's eyes, it was several seconds before either of them spoke, then Harry took hold of Hermione's hands and with a huge grin befitting any preteen boy he declared _

"_As soon as I am old enough I'll have a family, I'm going to marry you Hermione."_

"_Promise?" she asked._

"_Yeah I promise," Harry replied._

_It was the kind of declaration children had been making since the day marriage had been invented, Hermione chuckled and replied she would be honoured to be Mrs Potter and was happy to wait till the day they were both adults. They had laughed about it as they made their way to Hagrid's door, Harry declared to Hagrid as he poured them some tea that he and Hermione were going to be married, together they talked about how many children they were going to have, they even discussed whether to have a cat or a dog._

"_As soon as we are both adults we are definitely going to get married and I will be Mrs Harry James Potter, and that's a promise," Hermione said with conviction as they left Hagrid's cabin._

"_Yeah definitely! As soon as we are both adults, we promised," Harry affirmed as they waved their large friend goodbye…_

Harry thought about Hermione and how she had changed so much since that day. Now she was no longer the thin legged large toothed plain Jane, now she had grown into a rather beautiful young woman, her once shoulder length bushy hair now hung in shiny waves down her back, reaching her coccyx, she also had what Harry thought was a perfect figure, she wasn't huge breasted like Lavender, who always made him worry in the DA class in case her bra snapped and the sudden collapse of support at the front snatched her shoulders forward and hurt her back.

She wasn't skinny like Susan Bones who almost lived up to her name, no Hermione had a lovely pert breast and nice gentle curves to her waist and hips and the sexiest legs he ever saw. Harry chuckled as he remembered the day his dream had taken place, he had loved Hermione then, in a childish sort of way, but not in the true romantic way, not the way he loved her now. Rolling over to get a look at his bedside clock he decided as it was five thirty it was time to get up and cook the breakfast, today would be the last time he would ever have to cook for his hated family. Today he intended to burn every thing, and as the Dursley's all liked their bacon lightly cooked, and their eggs all runny, today he was going to cook the bacon nice and crispy, just how he and his owl Hedwig liked it.

Throwing all the rubbish hand me down clothes he had been forced to wear into the middle of the tiny bedroom floor, he pulled some brand new clothes from his trunk and after unshrinking them he made for the bathroom. For the first time ever in the Dursley house Harry Potter sang happily while he showered.

Harry's aunt was just about to hammer on the bathroom door to tell her worthless waste of space nephew to hurry up when she stopped her hand was still held poised in the air as she listened as Harry sang; he had the most wonderful singing voice she had heard in a long time. As her whale of a son slammed his bedroom door shut she scowled at him and told him to be quiet. Placing her ear close to the bathroom door once again she listened to Harry singing.

_Love is all around me, and so the feeling grows._

_It's written on the wind, it's everywhere I go._

_So if you really love me, come on and let it show._

_You know I love you, I always will._

_My minds made up by the way that I feel._

_There's no beginning, there'll be no end._

_Cause on my love you can depend._

Harry's uncle Vernon poked his head from the bedroom, his fat frame putting the hallway in to semi darkness,

"Petunia where are my…"

"Shut up Vernon!" Petunia shouted over her shoulder_._

'_I see your face before me, as I lay on my bed._

_I kinda get to thinking, of all the things you said._

_You gave your promise to me, and I gave mine to you._

_I need some one beside me, in every thing I do._

_You know I love you, I always will_…

Barefooted Vernon Joined Petunia outside the bathroom, and wondered what she was doing, "Peetun…?"

Petunia cut him off and huffed, Harry had stopped singing, she gave Vernon an I don't believe it look when she heard Harry start to sing again, she was tempted to open the door to hear better but thought better of it. "We could make a fortune if we had him singing professionally," she said more to her self than to Vernon.

"Shush woman he's singing again," Vernon hissed.

_Something is happening,_

_And it's changing everything._

_You must know why yi hi._

_Soon as you, started to kiss me, some thing new, suddenly hit me._

_The whole world over, it always happening,_

_The same sort of thing's to others too._

_Some thing is happening to me,_

_And I only hope the same thing is happening to you._

_Something is happening, exciting bewildering,_

_You must know why yi hi._

_Something thing is happening,_

_I can't think of anything, but you and I yi hi._

_What begins these loving notions,_

_You do things, to my emotions_.

The singing in the bath room suddenly stopped followed by the sound of the shower shutting off, the Dursley's all scurried to their bed rooms before Harry left the bathroom.

While Vernon and Petunia sat in their bedroom trying to think up ways to get Harry to stay with them instead of leaving, and then get him to sing into the microphone of a tape recorder so they could send a demo tape to a record company, Dudley was sat in his room wondering why his freak of a cousin was singing sappy old songs in the bathroom, after all what could a freak possibly have to make him sound that happy.

Harry was busy over cooking the breakfast and wondering why the dream of Hermione made him feel so good, and why he could not get thoughts and visions of a really scantily clad sexy Hermione out of his head. He was so busy trying not to have the thoughts he was having that he over cooked the food way beyond what he had intended.

"Good morning Harry, and how are you this morning young man?" a smiling uncle Vernon said as he sat down at the breakfast table.

"Yes good morning Harry dear," Petunia added as she also sat at the table.

Harry stood gaping at his relatives with his mouth open; he wondered if he was still in bed, stuck in some sort of sadistic nightmare, the shaking of the kitchen floor as Dudley waddled into the room brought Harry from the shock at his relatives' words. Thinking he had misheard them Harry placed two platters on the table, one contained the rather dark crispy bacon while the other held equally brown and rubbery eggs.

"So what excellent cuisine have you for us this morning, eh Harry?" Vernon said with a sickly look that Harry thought might represent a happy smile.

"So you said you were leaving today Harry dear, but there is no need for you to have to go to the trouble of finding some where to live you know, you are quite welcome to stay here with us. Vernon was saying just the other day that he was thinking of doing your room up for you," Petunia said as she dropped rock hard bacon and rubbery eggs onto Dudley's plate.

Harry carefully looked around the room, then he bent down and looked under the table, he was fully convinced that he would find some odd charmed object that the Weasley diabolical duo had planted some where, his aunt and uncle had never once spoken his name or said a single kind word to him before, not once in all the sixteen years he had suffered them, and all he could think of that could had given them this sudden amazing change of attitude was a magical charm.

Dudley sat trying to cut the rubbery eggs on his plate after giving up on the almost black bacon. Harry still had not said a word as he watched Dudley struggle and waited for some thing earth shattering to happen, what he expected to happen he had no idea. After a few minutes of looking at his smiling relatives Harry could stand it no longer, they were making him feel ill and uncomfortable, he gave his lips a quick wipe on a serviette then rising slowly as if expecting the world to end, or at least to fall out of bed and wake up, he said "Excuse me," and left the table and quickly headed for his bedroom.

Harry had been sitting on his bed, he was wishing away the time, hoping that midday would hurry up and arrive; so he could leave this house and the crazy way his relatives were acting, he could go with Remus and Tonks, he had only been in his room for half an hour when at seven o clock his aunt entered the room carrying a cup of tea.

"Here you go Harry, cup of tea just the way you like it, two sugars and plenty of milk," she said as she placed the steaming cup on his bedside table.

'_Ugh two sugars, yuck, I hate tea with sugar, and I only have a touch of milk_' Harry thought as he watched his aunt.

Petunia turned to smile at him; the smile vanished rapidly to be replaced with a look of horror, as she stared at him speechless, she began to point at him while backing away as though he had just turned into a vampire or some thing. The look of horror on her face was enough to make Harry look down at himself to see what she was pointing at.

"Agghhhhh, what the heck's happening?" Harry yelled as he looked down to find himself fading from view.

A minute later Harry found himself sitting in the same position on a different bed, a much more comfortable bed than his. Looking up he saw he was no longer in his grimy room at number four Privet Drive; he was in a very nice though girly type room. Feeling something move on the mattress behind him he slowly turned around and stared at the beautiful girl he had been thinking about all morning. Her long brown hair was spread out over her pillow, her come to bed mix of chestnut, chocolate and amber eyes were only half open, her bare shoulders had two thin streaks of white in the tanned skin leading down to just about half way down her breast, where her skin was replaced by a rather thin pink bed sheet. Harry could not stop him self as his eyes tracked down her bed, following the wonderful shape of her body; he could tell she was totally naked under the single sheet, the weather being to warm to sleep in night clothes. He was feeling the reaction of his own body as he stared at the shape of her beneath the thin sheet, slowly his eyes tracked upward once again till they rested on her widening eyes.

Hermione had woken up having just had an odd and unusual dream unlike any other dream she had ever had before, it was all about a day during her first year when Harry had told her he was going to marry her as soon as they both became adults, he had even promised. They had both made it a promise to each other. She rolled over onto her back keeping her eyes closed, she wanted to remember the dream, it had been the only time since the day she first met him that her best friend Harry Potter had said anything even remotely romantic to her. Those few words and his promise that day, she cherished above all her other memories. That was the day she really began to fall in love with him. She had long ago decided he would never see her any way other than as a friend, it almost broke her heart when he admired other girls in a way he never looked at her, it had been so hard last year when he had kissed Ginny Weasley right in front of her, after a good cry in the quiet of the girls showers she had been able to smile and pretend she was happy for the couple.

She lay quite still for a while savouring the memories, and then she began to day dream about him kissing her the way he had kissed Ginny, her thoughts soon went beyond kissing and she was in the middle of a day dream about making love to him the way she wanted to so much, she was so in love with the boy with the emerald coloured eyes. The daydream was so real she could actually smell him, it was a subtle clean air and fresh mown grass like smell with just a hint of the soap he used, he never used the colognes some of the other boys used, she was glad of that, she thought they were to girly, she liked his clean manly scent.

Something disturbed her day dream, she thought she had felt the bed move; slowly she opened her eyes a little. For a few seconds she thought she was in another dream, Harry was sitting next to her on the bed, but he was like one of the Hogwarts ghosts, pale and she could see right through him, but then he looked as if he were getting more and more opaque and he was looking at her in a way she had never seen him look at anyone before, not even the prettiest of the girls got that look from him.

She watched fascinated as he looked down at her, his eyes were full of what she thought might well be lust, she watched as his eyes slowly seemed to be devouring the sight of her, his eyes travelled slowly the full length of her body right down to her feet, and then reversing and slowly his eyes made their way back up her body, stopping at her breast for a short while before he looked into her eyes with a look in his eyes she did recognise, mixed in with the lust she could see love and desire.

'_Harry is looking at me with love and lust in his eyes this has to be the best dream I ever had'_ she thought just before she realised that he was now solid and real. Hermione's eyes went wide as she knew this was the real thing, Harry was really sitting on her bed. He had some how materialised right in front of her eyes.

"HARRY! What on earth are you doing here?" she managed to gasp out.

"Apart from looking at the most beautiful sight I ever saw, I have no bloody idea," Harry replied breathily, his eyes still wandering along the full length of her body.

"Harry language, and Harry I'm up here," she said as he stared at her almost fully uncovered breast.

Hermione looked where he was looking and snatched the sheet and pulled it up, as she turned back to him she saw the reaction his body had to seeing her under the thin sheet.

"Harry my eyes are not down there," she said as she stared at the huge lump in his jeans.

Harry coughed and then gave a little chuckle "Hermione, hello Hermione my eyes are higher up too." He suddenly turned slightly white and began to sweat a little as a thought drifted through his foggy mind.

"Are your mum and dad at home, how will I explain this, I know I didn't apparate, I was just sitting thinking of a dream I had then there you were," he said in a panic.

"I think Mum and dad have gone to work, Harry, would you mind waiting outside in the hall while I get dressed then maybe we can figure this out?" she asked looking across to the door. She could not help the smile that almost split her face; Harry just said he dreamt about her, Harry Potter had dreams about her, and she affected him in 'that way'.

Harry quickly turned his gaze from her chest that now stood out even more as there were two extra smaller lumps standing up from her breast. Hermione turned red as he saw her reaction to him, her nipples had swollen and hardened when she looked at the large bulge in his jeans and they were still pointing up below the sheet quite proudly. He had just reached the door and as he turned the handle there came a small scream from down stairs, followed seconds later by the pounding of feet on the stairs. Harry found himself standing behind the bedroom door as it was thrown open by someone who entered the room almost running, it was only due to the fact that the door hit his foot first that stopped him from getting hit in the face. As it was the force of the opening door was enough to make him hop about and clutch at his suddenly painful bare foot.

Helen Granger almost ran across the bed room and shoved a parchment in front Hermione's shocked face. "What is the meaning of this?"

Hermione thought she was already having an odd day, that is until she read the letter her mother was shoving in her face. Taking the letter from her mother she carefully sat up making sure that the bed sheet kept her covered. Hermione wasn't sure whether she should laugh, cry, yell and shout yeah, or groan, she knew Harry was going to hit the roof when he saw it, after all he was going out with Ginny Weasley, and she herself was supposed to be dating Ron, although he had yet to offer to take her anywhere beyond his mums kitchen, and he thought that kissing at the kitchen table should be enough to make a girl happy. She was not really looking forward to their first date.

Hermione read the letter again slower just to make sure she had not made a mistake, even though she knew she had not.

_Mr Harry James and Mrs Hermione Jane Potter._

_It is my pleasant duty to inform you that your promissory betrothal, dated_

_Thurs 19__th__ Dec 1991, was magically authorised and finalised this day_

_Wednesday, July 31__st __1997 at 00.01 hrs GMT._

_May we in the betrothal and marriages office be the first to congratulate you_

_on your marriage Mr and Mrs Potter. We are pleased wish you both a long, successful and happy marriage._

_Gloria Stainfast. _

_Senior registrar for marriages. _

_Betrothal and Marriage Dept UK._

_Births Deaths and Marriages registrar_

_Ministry of Magic UK_.

Just as Hermione finished reading the short letter she held, a large brown and white coloured owl flew into the room through the open door. It circled the room slowly and gracefully before landing on Harry's shoulder and holding out its leg to him. Harry removed the attached letter noticing it had the official seal of the minister of magic. Wondering what the minister was after this time Harry opened the letter watched by a shocked Helen and a speechless Hermione Granger.

_Dear Mr Potter congratulations on your marriage to Miss Granger. I hope you and the new Mrs Potter will be happy together. I am also pleased that your marriage will have a huge uplifting effect on the moral of the wizarding world. _

_Now that you have a wife to support can I suggest that we meet to discuss a_

_Press meeting to announce your happy event officially. Know that we at the ministry will offer you our full support in your new life and in your chosen career. Once again congratulations Mr Potter please offer my congratulations to your new wife._

_Rufus Scrimgeour Minister of Magic_.

Harry stood open mouthed staring at Hermione the almost naked girl in the bed just a few short steps away, who just moments ago had raised his blood pressure with out doing a thing, she was apparently now his wife. He wondered what Ginny would say, he then wondered what Ron would do, his fiery best friend was always just a breath away from anger and being jealous of Harry for even the most stupid of reasons. Harry not knowing what to do limped across the room and handed a stunned Mrs Granger the letter from the minister.

Looking again at Hermione Harry could not help the feeling of happiness that began to build in him, by the time Mrs Granger had read the letter and handed it to Hermione, Harry did not care what Ginny would say, or what Ron would do because he realised he was just about as happy as he could ever imagine being, he was married to the beautiful girl in front of him.

It was a rather large leap for Harry's clueless male brain to make but he suddenly knew why he had been so happy this morning after dreaming of Hermione, he now knew why she seemed to be so perfect in his eyes.

All the thoughts and day dreams about her and the happiness that made him actually sing whilst still at the Dursleys earlier all came together and lit up a small light in his brain. He was in love with Hermione, he realised he must have been in love with her for quite some time because he always compared all the women he met to Hermione, even Ginny, he only went out with Ginny because every one expected him to.

Hermione asked her mother if she could just give her a few minutes alone with Harry, a rather reluctant Helen Granger offered to go down stairs and make a pot of tea. Harry accompanied her to the hallway, where he stood to wait for Hermione to get dressed.

"Harry James Potter, you come back in here this instant," Hermione shouted as he started to close the door.

Harry shuddered a little before he stepped back into the room, Hermione had her no nonsense ready to kill and take no prisoners tone in her voice.

'_this is bad'_ he thought as he walked slowly to what he felt sure was to be his demise at the hand of Hermione. Reaching the bed he closed his eyes as he awaited the explosion that would surely come.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hermione said in her best professor McGonagall voice as she pushed the letter she had received into his hand.

Harry opened his eyes to look at the letter only for his mouth to drop open, his blood all rushed down hill, and his brain shut down. Hermione was sitting up in the bed with a stern expression on her face, but it was not her face he was looking at, in her present mood Hermione had let go of the sheet she had used to cover herself, Harry could see almost all of her naked torso from the top of her head right down to the never seen by any male neatly trimmed dark hair that led down to the top of the sheet now gathered in her lap.

"Well?" she asked looking up at him.

"I… I… I… I… er… er." Harry gulped and suddenly hoped she did not see the huge evidence of how she affected him, even though he knew it was obvious to anyone in the room, after what seemed like a year and severely blush burnt cheeks Harry managed to turn away from the delectable sight in front of him.

"Oh!" he heard her say as he dragged his gaze slowly to the door, he prayed that Mrs Granger did not come back for quite a time.

Taking a deep breath he began to read the letter, he had no idea what it meant when he read about the year 1991. "Hermione I have no idea what has happened," he declared turning to face her again.

Harry managed to sit on the bed as he handed her the letter back, "Well I suppose you will want to get it annulled or get a divorce or some thing," he said rather sadly.

Hermione had been able to read Harry like reading an open book almost since the day they met, and something in his voice told her that the idea of getting divorced or having the marriage annulled was not something he was happy about, could it be that he was happy to be her husband, was it possible that all her deepest wishes could come true, she suddenly remembered the look in his eyes when she had first realised he was actually sitting on her bed, she had thought it might well have been love she had seen in amongst the teenage lust.

"We cant do any of those things Harry, a magical wizard marriage is for life, if magically married people fall out of love and no longer wish to be together the best they can do is to live apart," she told him truthfully, she did not bother to mention that being his wife had been her deepest desire since they rescued Sirius in their third year at Hogwarts. Seeing Harry's eyes light up when she told him made Hermione's heart to skip a beat and then flutter.

"I suppose that means we would have to buy separate houses and we could never marry anyone else," Harry said giving her the last way out if she did not want to be Mrs Harry Potter.

When she hesitated in answering she could see the deep disappointment wash over his face, and it made her heart race as she realised for sure that he wanted the marriage as much as she did.

"Well…" she said pausing and watching him squirm a little "I don't know how we are going to tell Ron and Ginny that we got married."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Harry asked a smile slowly growing on his face.

"Well I don't know what you think it means, but this Mrs Potter definitely thinks it means you should buy me a wedding ring, and as we seem to have been engaged since the day in 1991 when you promised you were going to marry me, I think I should also get an engagement ring," Hermione said smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Harry shaking like a leaf in the wind, leant forward and gently placed his lips on hers, his world exploded into wondrous happiness accompanied by flashing stars and fire works as she closed her eyes and kissed him back, they quickly deepened the kiss as it became a kiss of mutual passion, and neither of them were able to think as their marriage bond grew stronger.

It was just a few minutes later when Harry and Hermione, both with slightly swollen lips, and flushed cheeks made their way down stairs to the kitchen.

Helen Granger sat nervously tapping her fingers on the breakfast bar, she could not figure out why Hermione had not told her about getting married, she wondered if her new son in law could support a wife, she was also confused about the time of the marriage, who gets married at midnight she asked her self.

Hermione led a rather sheepish barefooted Harry into the kitchen and together they sat down next to Helen. Before Hermione could speak Helen began. "How, where, why, why weren't your father and I invited, how did you get out of the house at that time of night without us noticing?" she asked in a rush.

Hermione tried to explain what they thought had happened, that during their first year at Hogwarts they had some how managed to turn a childish declaration about getting married into a binding magical contract, she also explained that there was no way out of it as magically married people can't divorce. She went on to explain that even though it was a total surprise to both of them they intended to stay together as man and wife.

"After all we have been together almost every day for the past six years, and we are both in love," Hermione concluded reaching over to pour two mugs of tea. Harry's with just a touch of milk and no sugar.

"But it was only yesterday that you were complaining just how bad a boy friend your boyfriend was," Helen noted.

"Well I wasn't talking about Harry, Harry has always been kind and caring," Hermione replied.

"NOT Harry?" Helen almost screamed "are you telling me you went out and married Harry even though you have a boyfriend?" Helen asked shocked at her daughter.

"It wasn't like that Mrs Granger, the marriage was completed by a magical contract being finalised, in fact the first thing I knew about it was just after I some how appeared in Hermione's room. I mean I was just sitting on my bed waiting for my friends to pick me up, I was thinking about a dream I had about the day we promised to get married when we were both old enough. I haven't even got my shoes on, anyway as I said I was just sitting there in my room one second and the next I just sort of appeared in Hermione's room. I think I arrived when Hermione woke up. We haven't had a wedding or anything like that, in fact I was sort of hoping you might be able to arrange a wedding for us, Hermione deserves her big day, just like all the other girls…" Harry had to stop there when another owl arrived.

Taking the letter from the owl Harry began to read.

_Mr H. J. Potter._

_Sir today being your seventeenth birthday thus bestowing on you adult status in the wizarding world, your presence is required at Gringotts at your earliest convenience._

_Order of business will be the finalising of Sirius Blacks will, roughly estimated at 37 million galleons, figures and properties to be verified at the above mentioned meeting, followed by the completion of your parents will and the hand over of the Potter estate, estimated value 126 million galleons._

_Actual figures and holdings plus files will be handed to you by your account manager Mr Griphook, any other business will be handled at this meeting._

_We look forward to an early completion._

_Fixhand. _

_Head of Testaments, Wills, and Estates office _

_London branch._

_Gringotts wizarding bank._

Harry stared at the letter for a while before handing the letter over for Hermione and Helen to read.

"Harry I never knew you were so rich," Hermione gasped.

"I never knew myself," Harry replied still in somewhat of a daze.

"And here I am wondering if he can support a wife," Helen said as she finished reading the letter.

The three of them sat in total silence for quite some time before Harry finally spoke.

"We should go to Gringotts, Mrs Granger do you think Mr Granger might take some time off from work today, I would like you all to come with me to Gringotts, I have never had any dealings with the bank other than to collect some cash from my trust fund in my first year, I would like some one there who could maybe advise Hermione and me?"

Helen Granger sat and stared at her new son in law, she was still having trouble accepting it all, the young man sitting opposite her was almost a billionaire and he was asking her to help him, he wanted her to arrange a proper wedding and he seemed so unassuming, she realised then why her daughter was in love with him, she her self even after such a short time was beginning to like him quite a lot.

"I think you are going to have to stop calling me Mrs Granger now that we are family Harry, you should call me mum I think. I'll phone Richard and get him to come home, we have provisions in place for family crisis, and telling Richard his little princess is married certainly comes under the heading of a crisis," Helen said as she rose and reached for the phone. Helen dialled the office number and after a short pause she had a few words with their receptionist, another short pause and then she began to speak to her husband.

"Hello Richard love, could you hand things over to young Roger and come home."

"No dear nothing like that, no love nobody is hurt."

"No we just need you to come home to meet your son in law."

Helen stood waiting, listening to the now silent phone, suddenly she held the phone away from her ear and both Harry and Hermione, who were still sitting drinking their tea, could hear Richard shouting down the phone.

Helen put the phone back to her ear as it fell silent once again.

"Richard dear do you think you could calm down enough to come home, we need to go to Diagon Alley with Hermione and Harry."

"No dear she has not married the red haired thicko."

"Yes dear I'm quite sure about that, Harry is definitely not the dumb red head you met at Kings Cross."

"Bye dear, see you shortly." Helen placed the phone back in its cradle and smiled at the two teens.

"If you were to ask me, I don't think your father likes that Ron boy," Helen said grinning at Hermione.

Having listened to the one sided conversation Harry suddenly became more nervous than he had ever been before, he was going to be meeting Hermione's dad, and like all young men he was terrified he would not be accepted as good enough for Hermione.

Hermione knew what was going through Harry's mind; she smiled at him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Thanks for asking mum to arrange a wedding, it was a rather smart move, I must be rubbing off on you finally."

Harry felt his nervousness settle a little and he chuckled at Hermione's comment. He could do this; with her by his side he had been able to do quite a few impossible things. With her by his side he had stared death in the face and survived, meeting her father can't be as bad as meeting Voldemort, at least that was what he tried to convince himself.

Richard Granger arrived home 45 minutes after the phone call telling him his only child was married and he had known nothing about it, Harry's nervousness returned ten fold when he saw Richard duck his head under the door frame to enter the kitchen, he made Ron and the rest of the Weasley's seem short.

Standing just shy of six foot six and built like a muscular athlete Richard Granger knew he could make most men wary; he stared down at the stranger in his kitchen, his anger at the young man only tempered by the presence of his wife and child.

"So who is going to explain to me why my little girl went off and got her self married with out telling me?" he asked watching the young man in front of him carefully.

Harry placed his shaking hands behind him a little, and then concentrated on trying to stop his right leg from shaking. Standing up he took a hesitant step toward the big man in front of him then held out his hand.

"Good morning sir, I'm Harry, Harry Potter, Hermione and I both attend the same school," Harry said noticing his hand was still shaking.

"Harry Potter eh, well Harry Potter I can't say I am happy about what you did, but at least Hermione had the sense to marry the guy she's been in love with for years," Richard said as he took Harry's hand, burying it in his own as they shook hands.

Hermione looked shocked; she wondered how her dad knew she had been in love with Harry for years. Helen smiled, she didn't think that Richard had picked up on Hermione's love for Harry, but like her he must have seen it in Hermione's many letters. Each letter she had written home was all about what she and Harry did, even when they had their small arguments she had always added some thing nice about Harry. Even the letter telling them about her dating Ron Weasley contained just a short piece about Ron, the rest was all about Harry and his girl friend, and a fierce jealousy of the other girl came through in almost every word in the letter.

As soon as Richard stopped crushing Harry's hand and let him go Hermione gave him a hug, like all loving fathers he returned the hug and then gently held Hermione at arms length, his large hands resting gently on her shoulders.

"So sweetheart, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Richard asked in his usual kindly voice. Some thing about Harry had found a soft spot in Richard and the huge man found himself calmed a little.

Hermione explained what had happened and what their options were, "We decided we want to stay together dad, we have been best friends for six years, and we both love each other, I think we always have."

Richard nodded his head in understanding, he wasn't happy about everything in the world his daughter belonged to, but he was pleased that the young man who was now his son in law had the conviction and love to stay and not run for the hills as most teenagers would. Harry coughed and took a deep breath, when Richard looked over at him he handed the letter from Gringotts to him. Richard read the letter letting out a long phew! when he saw what his new family member was worth.

"I was hoping that you and Mrs… er, mum would come with us, maybe advise us, make sure I don't miss something, I would normally trust Hermione to help me with some thing like this but it would be nice to have two adults help us with our money and stuff," Harry said as he sat back down.

"Harry you said our money, I take it that means you and Hermione?" Richard asked.

"Yes sir, she's my wife now, and that means all I have belongs to her as well," Harry replied smiling at Hermione.

Richard smiled "Right answer Harry, welcome to the family," he said as he placed a huge hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Harry wondered how such a large man could be so gentle, the only other large man he had met had a habit of patting him on the back and knocking him over, but then Hagrid had to be over ten feet tall.

On the journey to Gringotts Harry and Hermione explained about the war that was being waged in the wizard world.

Hermione explained about Harry's part in the war, and about his fame in their world, she told them every thing that she had held back from them since the day of the troll attack. She had never intended them to know about the danger she had been in being Harry's best friend, but now she was his wife and that put her probably number two on Voldemort's 'to kill' list.

Once Richard had heard all about their adventures and the horrors Harry had been through, he found himself unhappy about the danger his little girl was in, but he felt a grudging admiration for the young man with them and he offered to help them any way he could. Helen was shocked that Harry had saved Hermione from a twelve foot troll, and all the other things the young man had been through, having to face an egotistical maniac murderer five times in his short life, she could tell by the way Hermione had to tell them about his exploits, and the way he tried to make out his successes were all down to luck and having the best friends anyone could want, Harry Potter just wanted to be Harry a normal teenage boy, he even made a comment about not even being normal enough to ask the girl he loved if she would marry him.

Hermione had chuckled at that comment and said he should be happy he had not had to go through all the trouble of over coming the nerves that men had when they wanted to ask a girl out, and then he had gotten out of the trouble of working up the courage to ask her to marry him. Harry smiled at her words; maybe he had been just a little lucky in that area of his life.

Entering Gringotts and asking to see Mr Griphook Harry asked if his family could accompany him to the meeting.

"We at Gringotts were led to believe that you had no family Mr Potter," the Goblin Harry was talking to said sounding suspicious.

"I was married this morning," Harry explained and introduced his new family "this is my wife Hermione, and these are her parents Richard and Helen."

The Goblin bowed to Hermione "Welcome to Gringotts Lady Gryffindor. If you would all follow me please."

The Goblin led them to a rather elegant office and asked them to take a seat and wait while he informed Griphook of their arrival; he waited till they were all seated before he exited the room. Three faces turned to Harry in unison and they all said at the same time "Lady Gryffindor?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders "Don't ask me, I only read the same letters you did, so I'm no wiser about any of this than you."

Griphook entered the room just a few seconds later, "Ah Mr Potter, welcome to Gringotts, it is nice to see you again," he said as he held out his long fingered bony hand. Harry shook Griphook's hand and bowed a little as he did so, remembering from one of his lessons that it was a Goblin custom. Griphook in turn bowed to Harry and then asked them all to sit. "First Mr Potter might I verify your identity, we would not want any imposters to obtain access to your files now would we, just a small drop of blood will suffice."

Harry took the small dagger that he was offered and closing his eyes he jabbed the point at his thumb. Opening his eyes and looking at Griphook, Harry looked a little sheepish, perhaps he was not as brave as everyone thought he was, sticking a sharp knife in him self wasn't as easy as some might think.

Griphook took a firm grip of Harry's hand and placed his thumb into a small hollow on top of what looked like a solid rock. Just a few seconds later the blood soaked into the rock and the rock changed colour from grey to gold.

As Harry pulled his hand back from the rock, Hermione pulled out her wand and with a quick wave and a whispered spell she healed the small cut to his thumb.

Helen and Richard stared in amazement at Hermione; they had never been allowed to see any of the things she was learning at Hogwarts.

"So which title would you prefer Mr Potter?" Griphook asked satisfied with his identity.

"Title?" Harry questioned "I don't quite understand."

"Well lets see, you come into four titles on reaching full wizard status as you did this morning, you have the house of Black which gives you a knight hood, so you would be sir Harry Potter Black, you also have the Potter title of Lord Potter then you have the Ravenclaw title Lord Ravenclaw, and the title bestowed by your ancestor Lord Gryffindor," Griphook said reading from a small parchment.

"What are the titles for?" Hermione asked as always wanting as many details as possible.

"Well the Black title is a Knighthood, the Potter and Ravenclaw titles are both of a baron, and the Gryffindor title is an earl, normally you would be addressed with the more senior title," Griphook explained.

"So we will be formally addressed as Lord and Lady Gryffindor?" Hermione asked.

"That is correct," Griphook replied smiling as he looked first at Hermione then at Harry.

On Hermione's face Griphook could see wisdom and curiosity, on Harry he could just see a look of confusion which made him smile, the wizards he usually met would have been standing there with their nose stuck in the air and trying to look dignified while strutting about the room.

"Can't I just simply be Harry," Harry said to no one in particular.

Hermione rolled her eyes, '_trust Harry'_ she thought as she looked at him, he had not got a single cell of greed or conceit in his body and she felt so proud of him.

Griphook having handed Harry the four family rings that all blended into one leaving only the more senior Gryffindor ring showing, began to read out all of the things bequeathed to Harry, he was far richer than they had thought, as he owned more businesses and properties than they could remember, one business that did lodge in Harry's mind was the Daily Prophet, he owned 97 percent of the paper that had continually been trouble for him. When Griphook was finished reading the large file he had, he asked Harry to sign several documents. As Harry signed the last document the Gryffindor emblem appeared on the top pocket of the jacket he wore. Seconds later Hermione's name appeared next to Harry's on all the files.

"Ah Mrs Potter, congratulations on your bonding, I hope you have a long and fruitful life, and now that that is out of the way, could I impose upon you for a sample of your blood to add to the Potter account," Griphook asked.

Once more he pulled out the small dagger and handed it to Hermione, she pierced her thumb and allowed Griphook to place her thumb on the same stone he had placed Harry's. A minute later Griphook opened a small compartment at the base of the stone and removed two vault keys, he handed one to Harry and the other one he handed to Hermione. Harry made arrangements with Griphook to have the best possible wards placed around the Granger property, wards that were equal to those of the bank. He also arranged for Hermione and himself to have two credit cards that could be used out in the muggle world.

"And that concludes our business for today My Lord," Griphook said as he stood and offered his hand to Harry.

"Just call me Harry please Griphook, especially when we are alone or with family, I'm not to comfortable with being called my Lord," Harry said as he shook hands.

"Ok Harry it is," Griphook replied.

Harry and Hermione were followed out of the bank by two slightly shocked parents, they had never expected their daughter to become a lady, which was a shock in itself, but to hear Harry complain about being a Lord really surprised and shocked them; it was not some thing they would have expected of any young man.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer, If I owned Harry Potter I would never have brought Ron Weasley back into DH after he deserted the hero and heroine. oh and I know a little about love and life. So I definitely am not JK Rowling.

The Marriage contract.

Part two.

Ron Weasley swore at his owl as he released the small bird once again, Pig the owl flew out through the window did a few circuits of the Burrow, the Weasley family home, before he returned to the room he had just left. Ron annoyed with his odd little owl removed the letter from the owl's leg and walked down stairs, once he reached the kitchen he tied the letter to the old family owl Errol. Errol was getting a little unreliable in his old age but he had not yet refused to try to deliver a letter.

"Ok Errol, I want you to take this letter to Miss Granger," Ron said as he carried the owl out into the garden, with a quick thrust he launched the owl into the air. Errol circled the Burrow a few times and then flew back into the kitchen. An hour later a flustered Ron Weasley was sitting at the kitchen table looking morosely at the letter he had written to Hermione asking her to spend the rest of the holiday with him at the Burrow instead of going to the Dursleys to be with Harry. He could not understand why the owls were refusing to take the letter; he had addressed it as he always did when asking Hermione to visit. He had written it in his best hand writing, 'Miss Granger', there could be nothing simpler so he just sat there not knowing what to do.

Arthur Weasley arrived home from work at lunchtime to find his son sitting alone in the house, "Some thing wrong Ron?" he asked.

Ron looked up from the letter he had spent the past couple of hours staring at, "Its this bloody letter, the daft owls wont take it, I tried Pig and Errol, all they do is fly around the house a little then return."

"Ah yes, where's your mum and Ginny?" Arthur asked as he made a pot of tea.

"Oh they went over to the Lovegood's to help Luna redecorate," Ron replied as he took the cup of tea offered by his father.

"I just don't understand why the bloody birds refuse to deliver my mail," Ron complained.

"Well maybe you didn't address it right," Arthur said as he looked down at the addressee on the envelope, '_seems Ron doesn't know yet'_ he thought as he sat back in his chair. Five minutes later Molly and Ginny Weasley returned to the Burrow, Molly to feed her husband and son, Ginny to write a letter to Harry, she was still annoyed at him for breaking up with her 'Just to keep her safe' as Harry had said. She was convinced there just had to be a better reason for him to have ended their very short time as boy and girlfriend, just two weeks was not what she had envisioned. Harry was meant to fall deeply in love with her; they would get married and live happily ever after. After all it had been her dream since she had been a little girl. She Ginny Weasley would meet and marry the boy who lived, as far as she was concerned there was no other choice. It was meant to be.

Walking back into the kitchen she found Ron tying an envelope to Pig's leg, in the hope the bird would finally take his mail. "Oh Ron be a love and add this letter to Harry."

Ron took the letter from his sister and tied it along with his letter, seconds after being released Pig disappeared into the distance. Ron's owl Pig did not return until late that night and by the time he returned the Burrow was in darkness and the cacophonous sound emanating from the Burrow broke the peace of the night, animals around the Burrow ignored the sound, they were all used to the snoring sound that came from the small house.

Harry with his wife Hermione and her parents made their first stop after Gringotts the Daily Prophet offices. Being Harry Potter, the wizarding world's hero and the main topic of the paper, usually the new topic being some new way to try to humiliate, or discredit Harry, he was given a wide berth by most of the employees.

Harry barged straight up to the editor's desk, where he found the man reading the first proof of the special edition they were preparing to send out.

Harry snatched the paper from the mans hands and began to read a story about how he Harry Potter had turned his back on the wizarding worlds way of life and married the Muggle born witch Hermione Granger, there were several column inches written about Hermione and not one word of it was good. Disgusted at the rubbish he had just read Harry ordered the editor to scrap the story,

"You will not publish one single word about me or my getting married, you will publish not one word about my wife," Harry hissed at the evil little man in front of him.

"Sorry boy, but hero or not, I'll not have you tell me what I can or can not publish," the editor snarled at Harry.

"Your days of ridiculing me are over," Harry yelled at the editor.

"Oh and what are you going to do Potter, curse me. I've had better men than you threaten me," the editor yelled at Harry.

Harry picked up the name plate from the desk, "No mister Shetton, I'm going to fire you," Harry said almost casually. Harry looked around when he heard some one whisper 'go on Harry stick it to him.'

"And just who do you think you are threatening to have me fired, you snot nosed brat," the editor hissed.

Harry shoved a piece of parchment in front of the editor's face "I'm the bloody owner of the paper, that's who I am you little shit," Harry replied still sounding casual "and you are fired, as of now."

"Yes about time, now maybe we can do some real stories," Harry heard in the same voice from before. Turning around Harry looked at the young man; he was maybe three or four years older than Harry. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Thompson Mr Potter, Phillius Thompson," the young man answered.

"Well Mr Thompson, would you be so kind as to escort this piece of rubbish off the property, and then come back here after," Harry said smiling.

Phillius Thompson along with several other people quite happily escorted Mr Shetton from the building, all of them laughed when he fell down the front steps of the building. On returning to the editor's desk he found Harry sitting on the desk and Hermione sitting in the editor's chair, the two other people with Mr Potter were sitting in two comfy looking chairs someone had conjured.

"Job done Mr Potter sir," he declared, a huge smile lighting up his face "I have to admit I really enjoyed that." Thompson laughed.

"So Mr Thompson what job do you do here?" Hermione asked.

"Tea boy Ma-am, it's the only job they would give me, me being muggle born," Thompson replied.

"So what made you apply to the Prophet for a job?" she asked interested in why muggle born's only got the menial tasks.

"Well after I finished my editing degree at Oxford, I wanted to work in the world I felt I belonged too," came the reply.

"And what would you do if you were to edit this paper?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Well first thing would be to sack all the pretend reporters," he answered.

"Pretend reporters?" Harry asked looking straight into the mans eyes.

"Yeah the ones who just get told what to write and do it just to keep the slush money coming in. Like Skeeter, that one hasn't a clue about real reporting, there are others as well, writing what ever the minister or Malfoy tells them, I'd get shot of all of them and set some of the decent reporters to work," Thompson said sounding quite passionate.

Hermione wrote a note on a piece of parchment and tapped it with her wand, the parchment folded itself into a paper plane and then flew off to the personal department, she then got up from the editors chair and looked at Harry, he gave an almost invisible nod to her, "Well Phillius, you best get sat down in your chair and get to work," Hermione said indicating the chair she had just vacated.

Thompson looked at her with wide eyes "You mean," he pointed at the chair "and I'm the new."

Hermione simply nodded to him and smiled "We expect to see some improvements' in the truth of the articles this paper prints."

Phillius Thompson walked around the desk and stroked the editor's chair just once before picking up Shetton's name plate and dropping it into the waste bin, picking up a quill he quickly scribbled a note on a small piece of parchment.

"Oy, Joneseeee, you hate Skeeter and all she stands for, how would you like to be the one to hand her the note telling her she's fired?" Phillius shouted to the post room boy.

"Oh Boy I'd love too," the boy answered.

"Well give her this and tell her don't bother coming back, this paper is now going to support Mr Potter in his fight against evil," Phillius said.

Harry and Hermione were surprised by the cheers that ran through the office when Phillius made the future of the paper known.

"Ok, Jenkins nip down to the print room, tell them they can forget the special and take the rest of the day off, then get back up here, we have quite a lot of sorting before we go to press again," Phillius shouted.

"Sorry Mr. Mrs. Potter but if we want this paper to hit the streets tomorrow, I shall have to leave you, I have a lot of work to do, and several advertisements to cancel, we will no longer help Voldemort's lackeys' raise funds for their cause," he said as he rushed away to do the job of editing a paper the way it should be done.

After an early lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, the Potters and Grangers decided that they would visit some of Harry's eleven homes, Harry asked Hermione why any family would want more than one home, she informed him it seemed to be the normal thing in the wizard world. First house they visited using Goblin portkeys was Potter House, a rather large Elizabethan house, with at least twelve bed rooms, the entire house was well kept by several house elves all of whom wore a neat uniform, the males wore black trousers and white shirts with a black waistcoat bearing the Potter crest over the left breast. The female elves wore similar attire accept they wore black skirts in place of trousers.

When Hermione complained about the use of house elves, the eldest elf explained that they were free to leave should they wish, but they would never be happy or safe without their magic. When asked what he meant he explained that an elf who was not bonded would quickly loose almost all his or her magical ability, being bonded had actually freed the elves from the forests their ancestors were forced to live in, now they received their magical boost from the wizards home, the more magic used in the home the more powerful the elf magic became. Hermione was amazed by the elf history and mentioned to Harry that the Hogwarts elves must be really powerful. Harry chuckled.

"What are you chuckling at Mr Potter?" Hermione said with her hands on her hips.

"I was just thinking it's a good job Dobby works at Hogwarts, he insists on being bonded to me, anyway, he would need all that extra power just to do his job in the tower," Harry said.

"What exactly do you mean, what job has Dobby got in the tower?" Hermione said her eyes half closed.

Harry took a leaf from Hagrid's book and decided to just keep repeating "I shouldn't a said that."

Hermione getting frustrated with her husband called Dobby in the hope he would hear her. A loud crack just behind her alerted her to his arrival.

"Yes mistress, Dobby is here, what can Dobby be helping mistress Potter with?" the little elf asked looking really happy.

"Dobby, would you explain to me what job you do in the Gryffindor tower?" Hermione asked politely.

Dobby suddenly looked worried, with his head bowed and his eyes on the floor "Dobby does clean the Gryffindor tower, and makes the beds and does the washings and he does polishes the shoes and iron the washing and lights the fires, mistress," he answered fast and without a single pause.

"Dobby you mean you have to do everything, why don't some of the Hogwarts elves help out?" she asked kindly.

Dobby looked around for somewhere he could punish himself. "Dobby, you know my rules, you are not allowed to punish your self for anything." Harry said sternly.

"Yes Harry Potter sir," the elf answered.

"So Dobby will you answer my question?" Hermione asked him again.

"Elves not want to work in the tower where the nasty Grangy live, they not wanting to lose their magic, elves stay away from nasty Grangy's evil tricks, elves don't like being punished for working." Dobby said his head bowed low.

"Dobby you can return to Winky now, how is she by the way," Harry said smiling at his little friend.

Hermione was close to tears when Dobby left, she had no idea that her misguided effort to help the elves caused Dobby so much work, she was even more upset knowing the elves thought of her as a bad person. Harry tried to comfort her by pointing out that now she knew more she would have a better foundation to base spew on. Hermione was about to respond with her usual words about S.P.E.W but decided against it. Harry was right, now she would have a better idea what the elves would need.

Having checked out Potter house the group then visited the four Black homes, each one was as bad as Grimmauld place on a bad day. Harry checked down the list of homes, Ravenclaw house was on the continent and he had no wish to travel so far yet, so that just left them with five more and it was getting late in the day. After putting their final destination of the day to a vote, they port keyed to Gryffindor Towers.

They found them selves in a small castle; it was about a third the size of Hogwarts. As they arrived in what was obviously an entrance hall, they all looked around, just behind where they stood, a huge staircase led up to the next floor. Harry counted six staircases reaching upward. As they looked around taking in their surroundings they were greeted by a beautiful young looking woman, she had long golden hair, and a very slim body, her skin was pale and her complexion perfect, she had pale green eyes that were a pronounced almond shape, her lips were slightly more than pink yet she wore no lipstick, she seemed to be perfectly proportioned, and could be classed as a true classical beauty except she only stood four feet tall.

"Good day M'Lord and M'lady Gryffindor," she said as she gave a small curtsy.

"Er Hello, I'm Harry and this is my wife Hermione and her parents Helen and Richard," Harry said as he gazed at the young woman.

"Welcome to Lord Gryffindors family," she said as she bowed very slightly to Helen and Richard.

"And what is your name?" Harry asked.

"Demeter, M'Lord," she replied.

As she turned to face Harry a little more Hermione noticed Demeter's ear, it was pointed just like the elves of muggle fairy tales.

"Demeter, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Hermione asked

"1542 years and six months M'lady," she answered bowing once again.

"So you are a real elven, I thought you were all just a fairy tale, our history teaches us that true elves have simply been a myth, a story told for thousands of years," Hermione said fascinated with the little person standing in front of her.

"We are only twenty in this land, and we all live and serve in this castle M'lady," Demeter answered.

"Only twenty why is that?" Hermione wanted to know.

"We only bear children when our Van Frey gives us permission to marry, it has been this way for tens of thousands of years," Demeter replied.

"Oh!" was all Hermione said.

"M'Lord Gryffindor, could I ask your permission to bear young, I am all but a few years away from the end of my child bearing age?" Demeter suddenly asked Harry.

Harry went red and coughed before he answered "Certainly, any of the elves who live in the castle are free to marry and have children, there will be no need for any of you to ask for my permission."

Hermione looked at Harry with pride shining in her eyes "Well done love of my life," she whispered.

Demeter turned bright red and stuttered a thank you to Harry before she showed them around the castle. The place was an amazing site, six floors five of which had bedrooms all with a fitted bathroom, when asked about the very modern looking bath and bed rooms Demeter informed them that there was an ancient contract between Gryffindor and a Goblin owned building company that required the castle be updated every forty years, the last updates had been just three years ago. All the bed rooms were similar, they all had huge fireplaces, large and comfortable four poster beds, each room had two bedside tables, plenty of wardrobe space and comfortable chairs, two of which were placed one either side of the fire place.

The only bedroom that was different was the master bedroom, it took up most of the sixth floor, to one side were the usual bedroom furniture, the bed etc, but on the other side of the room was a large square bath, it was quite large enough and deep enough to be a swimming pool, it was just the number of large taps it had that made it different than a typical swimming pool.

The small family were served a delicious meal in the family dining room, they then retired into the living room, it was a huge room with warm carpeting and decorated in Gryffindor colours, there were three, three seater couches along with several arm chairs, the huge fire place was big enough to have a couch and two chairs in front of it, after the meal they all sat in front of the fire, all four of them had a lot to think about. A lot of things had happened in the past twelve hours. Harry was finding it hard to believe that it had been just one day. It seemed to him that he had been part of this family for a long time.

After a short discussion they all decided to stay at the castle until the Goblins had completed warding the Granger house. Richard and Helen chose to take a bed room on the first floor, while both blushing madly Harry and Hermione decided on the master bedroom. Taking a stroll around the grounds after a delightful supper, Harry and Hermione walked hand in hand, "I feel like we have been a couple for years," Harry said as he gave Hermione's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Well we have been together for six years but I know what you mean, it's like it was meant to be," Hermione said as they walked slowly toward a large pond.

"Was it just this morning I was having all those dreams about you?" harry asked before he sighed, "it's been a whole day and we have only really had one kiss."

"Well we can change that," Hermione said with a smile and a blush.

"Yeah we can," Harry said as he stopped walking and pulled Hermione into his arms.

Hermione's arms instantly wrapped around Harry's neck as he pulled her to him for a kiss, their lips met and fire rushed through his veins, feelings he had never experienced before filled his whole being, kissing Hermione was like he had finally found what he had wanted his entire life, she filled a hole he never even knew he had. Hermione's knees began to sag as Harry gently pressed his tongue against her lips, begging her to open her mouth. As their tongues tangled and fought with each other she had to cling to Harry to stop her self from falling. She had often day dreamed about Harry kissing her, but with only one quick kiss each from Ron and Viktor Krum to base her day dream kisses on she realised that her dreams came no where close to the real thing.

Harry's kiss made her forget to breathe, he made her body quiver and her knees turn weak, he stirred up huge butterflies in her stomach, butter flies that turned into fire deep in the pit of her stomach, so deep the fire reached down to her core and stirred feelings she had never had before, her body was screaming for him, she wanted and needed him completely, she could feel the strong pulse of her blood as it throbbed between her thighs.

After several passionate kisses, mingled with tender loving gentle kisses they mutually and silently agreed it was time to end their walk and go to bed, neither one of them thought about sleep, any shyness they may have had vanished with the desire they felt for each other. As they walked to go up the stairs they were stopped by an older looking elf.

"Excuse me M'Lord, but I can see from your aura that tonight is your bonding night, if I might be so bold, you both have such power, such aura's, never have I seen stronger, I wish to suggest that your Lordship use many protective wards in your room this night, the castle will need protecting from your final bonding this night, goodnight M'Lord, M'lady." The older elf having spoken walked away in to the castle kitchen.

Just ten minutes after starting back from their walk they were in their bedroom, after wondering about the meaning behind the old elf's warning they decided to put up the strongest shielding wards they could just in case, Hermione added a silencing and an imperturbable charm as well. Harry watched as the most beautiful women in his world slowly removed her clothes, he had begun to undress at the same time as Hermione but seeing her remove her blouse had stopped all his movement to watch her.

Hermione turned to face her new husband, she worried what he might think of her, she had never been confident of her looks, she always considered her self plain looking at best. As she stood there in front of him Harry gasped "God Hermione you are absolutely beautiful, the most beautiful girl in the world," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

Hermione's heart did a flip flop along with her stomach, he thought she was beautiful, and she could tell from his eyes that he was not lying; he really did think she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Hearing his words she no longer cared if she was plain, or if the rest of the world thought she was ugly, Harry thought she was beautiful.

Just a few short seconds later found them both lying naked on the bed learning about each others bodies in a way they never knew before. After several minutes of passionate discovery of each other with their hands lips and a lot of kissing their bodies finally came together, and as their bodies joined so did their souls and as they reached the peak of their passion, for a few seconds their magical cores joined together and mixed their magical cores in to one huge mass of power. As their marriage bond was completed and they both rode on the high waves of ecstasy there was a blinding golden glow that surrounded their bed on that first joining, their magic reached out and filled the room, lightning flashed around them as their passion reached its peak. The bed lifted from the floor and a whirlwind swept everything in the room onto the floor.

As they slowly returned to the normal world Hermione announced that all adults were greedy and cruel to keep such amazing pleasures to them selves. When they awoke in the morning Harry was still buried deep inside Hermione, they were still tightly wrapped in each others arms, legs still entangled, just as they had been when they finally fell asleep. When they eventually looked around the room they saw it was a scene of almost complete devastation, it took them two hours to repair the damage to the room and their few possessions.

As Harry and Hermione sat down to breakfast in the kitchen, an elf who identified himself as Kronos handed them two letters. "They arrived by owl last evening sir, after the master and mistress retired."

Harry took the two letters and thanked the elf, he looked at the two envelopes and let out a sigh, handing one of the letters to Hermione he waved the other one in the air.

"Ginny," was all he said.

Hermione read the address on the envelope she held. "Ron."

Almost synchronised they opened the envelopes and removed the letters. They both read the letters.

_Dear Harry, I am writing this letter in the hope I can change your mind about breaking up with me at Dumbledore's funeral. I know his death was a blow to you, but surely you don't really think that you would not be able to protect me, you are the hero of our world, the boy who lived. I want you to reconsider and let me know as soon as you can, I shall be waiting here for my knight in shining armour to come to me._

_Love _

_Ginny_.

"Well that was short," Harry announced while Hermione read her letter.

_Dear Hermione, how are you, I hope you are thinking of me, I am looking forward to us getting together again soon. Do you think that we could change our plans, could you come to stay at the Burrow instead of us going to visit Harry. If you were to come here we could cuddle up and kiss just like I said before. It would be great to be able to kiss you while we sit here in the kitchen and I look forward to our first real kiss, I know we have already had one kiss but it wasn't what I call a good snog was it, it wasn't quite as good as the snogging I did before. Please say you will change your mind about going to Harry's place and that you will come to the Burrow as soon as you can. Mum has promised to make our favourite food for us when you are here, it will be nice to have a girl friend, especially you as I have fancied you since fourth year and you being my girl means Harry can't have you, I've seen the way he watches you. But this time he has lost and I have won. Any way please write back soon and tell me when you will be arriving._

_Love _

_Ron_.

Hermione sighed "Bloody prat."

Harry cocked his eyebrow "Language Hermione Potter," he said laughing. "what did he do this time?"

They swapped letters and read them, "You broke up with Ginny?" Hermione asked as she finished the slightly senseless missive from Ginny.

"Yeah at Dumbledore's funeral, I could see no future in being with Ginny, it was ok for a couple of weeks but she didn't seem to want to know me, she just wanted to be with the boy who lived," Harry replied.

"But that's not who you are Harry," Hermione exclaimed.

"Yeah well you are the only one who ever really bothered to get to know the real me, you know. Even Ron never really tried to get to know me, all he ever wanted to do was to be jealous of my fame or the money, I would have swapped it all to have a family like he had," Harry mumbled as he reread Ron's letter.

"Ron really is a Pratt, he makes you seem like some sort of trophy, something to be won, like a prize in a raffle or some thing, not to mention trying to get you to break a promise, don't know why we put up with him really do you," Harry said sounding angry.

"Well to be honest, I don't think we really need him, he isn't much good at anything, in fact if it had not been for us he would still be trying to pass his second year exams, but I'll leave that decision up to you husband dear," Hermione said with a hint of a laugh in her voice.

"I think I'll write and let him know that my wife and I are quite happy to continue our search for the horcrux items without him," Harry said as he summoned some writing materials.

"Yeah well I think I shall write and tell Ginny that as a married man you are no longer available," Hermione laughed as she watched Harry scribble a letter.

_Dear Ron, I just read your letter to Hermione, my dear wife wishes me to inform you she does not appreciate you referring to her like some kind of trophy or prize to be won in a raffle or annual draw, she wishes me to notify you that she has feelings and she is a person, an individual not some thing to be won, and she would like you to remember that. I myself do not like the way you tried to get my wife to break a promise, my wife and I both want you to know we are proud of the fact that we will not willingly break a promise. It is in fact thanks to a forgotten promise we made to each other during our first year that we now find our selves married, we also discovered we have both been in love with each other for quite a long time._

_I'm sorry that your petty jealousies have ruined what could have been a life long friendship, it's just like in our fourth year when you tried to turn Hermione against me, you did not succeed then and you have not succeeded this time. We have jointly decided that we will continue our search and hopefully the final destruction of Voldemort without you, we do not need a dividing force to come between us during such a vital time._

_Sincerely _

_Lord Gryffindor. _

_Better known as Harry Potter_.

Harry passed his letter to Hermione for her approval before he put it in an envelope, while Hermione passed her short note to Ginny, over to Harry.

Harry read the note and chuckled.

_Dear Ginny, this is just to let you know that my husband will not be available for knight in shining armour duties for the next 150 - 200 years or so, as we plan to spend the time making love and keeping each other happy, and eventually raising our family._

_Yours _

_Mrs Hermione Potter._

_Lady Gryffindor_.

"Short and straight to the point eh, sweetheart?" he said still chuckling.

Hermione laughed, "Maybe we should go back to bed, I mean I would not want to be telling lies now would I?"

Just as they decided that going back to bed might be a good idea they were joined by Helen and Richard, both teenagers blushed at the knowing looks Helen gave them.

"Did you sleep well?" Helen asked smiling.

"Yes actually mum, that bed is really comfortable," Harry answered seriously.

"So what are we doing today?" Richard asked as an elf arrived with their breakfast.

"I think we should visit the other houses on the list, you never know we might like one of them better than here," Hermione said looking at Harry for confirmation.

Before Harry had a chance to answer two blushing elves entered the room and approached them.

"Excuse me M'Lord, could we speak?" Kronos asked.

Harry invited the two elves to sit with them, looking rather shy they both nodded and climbed up on to two chairs; Demeter sat at Hermione's side while Kronos sat beside Harry.

"So what can I do for you?" Harry asked cheerfully.

"M'Lord, I wish to ask about the bonding of myself and Demeter, when would his lordship like to carry out the ceremony of bonding?" a red faced Kronos asked looking down and studying the table top.

"Me! You want me to perform the ceremony," Harry asked in surprise.

"Yes M'Lord, Demeter and I wished to be the first, there will be many elves, and elf's who will wish for his lordship to bond them, there are two elf's here from Hogwarts who wish to bond and bear young, I hope his lordship does not mind but I asked them to wait," Kronos said looking nervous.

"Why me? why do you want me to bond you?" Harry asked his eyes wide.

"You are the first to take the Gryffindor lordship since your great, great, I'm sorry I forget how many greats, grandfather M'Lord, none since Lord Godric himself have wanted the responsibility of being Van Frey of the Elves, Elven, and elf's. There will be many wishing to be bonded as the news that we have a Van Frey again after so long. Many of the elf's will wish to be bonded by the Van Frey, they unlike us do not live to such great age," Kronos said as he glanced at Demeter.

"Bloody hell," Harry gasped.

"Harry language," said Helen and Hermione together.

"Okay, ok, I have no idea what I have to do, so you Kronos will have to teach me, as for when, well why don't we do the ceremony as soon as I know what to do," Harry said smiling at the two blushing elves. "oh and who are the elven I never met any I don't think."

Demeter gave a sort of suppressed chuckle "Elven M'Lord are simply female elves."

"Oh ok then, just one thing, no more of this M'Lord, hopefully we can become friends and my friends call me Harry," Harry told the two elves, both of them looked shocked.

"M'Lord is as great as was his ancestor lord Godric, he too insisted we use his name," Kronos said as he climbed from the chair and bowed.

"Kronos, if you could come to the library in an hour, you can explain the ceremony to me and I will see to it that it is written down, so that the next Van Frey, as well as this one can learn it," Hermione said before the two elves left the room.

A few seconds later Harry was almost knocked from his chair as a small bundle collide with him. Looking down Harry chuckled.

"Hello Dobby, it's good to see you again," Harry said to his excitable little friend.

"Hello Harry Potter sir, Dobby heard that Harry Potter sir is the new Van Frey, Dobby is so pleased because Harry Potter sir is the greatest of all wizards," Dobby gushed.

"So Dobby what can I do for you?" Harry asked still chuckling at the elf's always odd behaviour.

Dobby looked over to the door way where another elf stood and beckoned her to join him.

"Hello Winky, how are you now," Hermione asked kindly as she bent down to welcome the little elf.

"Winky is a little better now M'lady," Winky answered.

"Winky still wishes to be bonded to a family, mistress Grangy," Dobby said looking a little sad.

Hermione remembering what the Hogwarts elves thought of her after her misguided venture into freeing the house elf's knelt down in front of Winky. "Is that true Winky; are you still sad at being a free elf?" Hermione asked kindly.

Winky stood with tears in her huge eyes and looked to the floor then nodded her head, her short ears flapping a little.

"Well Winky how would you like to be bonded to the Potter family?" she asked smiling.

"Winky bonded, you is asking Winky to be bonded, ooh yes please M'lady," Winky said as she bounced up and down on her toes.

"And Dobby, do wish to remain a free elf?" Hermione asked him.

"Oooh M'lady, Dobby is always wishes to be bonded to the great Harry Potter sir," Dobby said as his huge eyes seemed to get bigger.

Hermione, Winky and Dobby all looked at Harry. "Ok I give in, you can both be bonded to the Potter family," he said smiling at Hermione. Unseen by the Potters, a quick flash of light joined the two Potters and the two elf's, Hermione looked at Winky, "Do we need to do anything for you to be bonded?"

"No M'lady, we's now Potter house elf's," Dobby declared as he jumped up and down for joy "I has always wished to be bonded to the great Harry Potter sir."

One week Later as Harry sat alone in the banqueting hall of the castle, doing a quick recheck on what he had to do for the upcoming bonding ceremony, he decided to quickly check how his opening words would sound, he hoped there would be no echo. Standing up and clearing his voice Harry began, "I Harry Potter, Lord of Gryffindor, Van Frey of the Elves and house elves, do this day swear to do my utmost to protect and preserve the beliefs and custom of the elfish world." Harry suddenly found himself surrounded by a rainbow of coloured lights that all swirled and mingled, then with a loud rushing sound all the lights blended into one and gathered in front of him, a sound like a huge bell being struck seemed to shake the castle just before all the light gathered into just one spot directly in front of him, the light suddenly vanished to reveal a beautiful sword that hung in the air right in front of him.

Harry slowly reached out and took hold of the hilt of the sword, a flash of magic rushed down his arm and he felt the power of the sword flow through him. All the commotion in the hall brought the entire household rushing in to see what had happened. Twenty elves stood staring in awe at the sword Harry held when Hermione and her parents rushed in.

"Kronos what happened?" Hermione asked.

Kronos answered without taking his eye from the sword, "M'Lord Harry has the Claíomh Solais, the sword of light."

"This is the power that he knows not," Harry said in a whisper that carried to all ears "darkness will fall before this blade."

Hermione having joined Harry had to poke him in his side "What do you mean? Darkness will fall before this blade Harry."

Harry turned to look at Hermione "Eh?"

"You just said this is the power he knows not, darkness will fall before this blade," Hermione said sounding a little scared.

"I did, are you sure? I don't remember saying anything," Harry said as he looked at the sword in his hand. "Maybe things are not looking so good for Voldemort then."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer, Now you all know I'm not JKR don't you.

Marriage Contract.

Part three

Harry sat in the window seat of their bedroom watching his wife as she slept; he smiled each time she reached out for him to his side of the bed in her sleep, each time her arm would retract a little slowly and then gently pull his pillow tightly to her chest.

The sword of light rested on his lap, as everyone else in the castle slept Harry had been thinking things over; looking out of the window into the moonlit sky he finally made his decision. At seventeen years old with the future of the wizarding world on his shoulders he knew he was too young to take on more responsibility, that and he had no experience on being a Lord, let alone one who was seen as a king. Today after the bonding he knew what he would do, what he needed to do. He and his wife needed the short time left before the end of the summer break to be together, to be by them selves, then they could resume the search for the pieces of Voldemort's soul and destroy them. Looking down at the sword in his lap he whispered "Tomorrow I pass you on."

---

Ron Weasley sat looking up at the moonlit sky, he had not slept to well over the last few days, having looked out of the window for some time Ron began pace in his room, Bills wedding to Fleur was just a few hours away and he needed to figure out how to tell his mother that he had concocted a huge lie about Harry stealing his girlfriend. Ron thought back to the day he received that damn letter from Harry, he had been absolutely furious as he read a letter from Harry saying that he was now Hermione's husband. As if he would fall for that sort of rubbish, he was certain that Hermione fancied him and if she had married Harry then she must have been under the imperious curse or some form of love potion.

Ron swore he was going to beat Harry bloody I'm the boy who lived Potter to with in an inch of his life. Ron was actually so furious he had let his anger get the better of him once again, it had not helped when Ginny had backed him up and then complained that the love potion he had been feeding Harry had been to weak. He remembered the look of disbelief his father gave him as he told his mother that he and Hermione had been dating for the whole year, Hermione doesn't even like him like that, I know she told me just a few weeks ago, he must have used a charm or maybe amourtentia love potion, he had said.

Once he had told those first two lies others had followed, it had been easy to tell of all the dates he and Hermione had been on, it had been even easier to tell his mother that he had proposed to her and she had accepted. Ginny had backed him up in his fanciful tales of kissing in the common room while Harry looked on jealously, he had used that part of his story to legitimize his use of the love potion, Ginny wanted Harry as a boyfriend and he had wanted Harry to stop being jealous.

One by one the lies had built up and now Ron was getting scared, at supper the night before his mother had announced that she had invited Harry and Hermione to the wedding, she had winked at Ron as she informed them she had a plan. But Ron could think of no way to tell his mother that he had never asked Hermione to be his girlfriend, and he had only kissed her once, and that had been a simple quick kiss that had been so quick it barely counted especially as she had not actually kissed him back, she had just stood there looking shocked. And on top of all that he had never actually asked her to be his girlfriend, he had simply assumed she was because when he had spoken to her about snogging in the Burrow kitchen she had said nothing.

---

Ginny Weasley gave a quick look up at the windows of the house; it was obvious by the lack of lights that everyone in the Burrow was asleep. Turning back to the task in hand she gave the potion three stirs to the left and then five stirs to the right, as she stirred she wondered why the darn potion needed to be made during a full moon, and why on earth it had to be made outside under the blooming moon, anyone glancing out of a window would be able to see her.

Standing back she waited for the three minutes to pass before she began stirring once again. This time she had to stir forty times to the right and forty times to the left. As she stirred she thought back to the day that stupid letter had arrived, it was a very poor joke, but then Hermione never did have a good sense of humor, Harry probably put her up to it, it was the sort of thing her hero would do. Reversing her stirring she thought about what the day would bring. Harry was coming to Bill's wedding and once she slipped him some of this potion he would want her once again, and with the romantic atmosphere of the wedding she would get him to propose right in front of that bushy haired bookworm. A nasty cruel smile curled her lips at the thought of the pain it would cause the know it all, because she knew exactly how Hermione felt for Harry even if Hermione was too stupid to see it.

---

It was a bright sunny day as Harry stood watching the elves gathering, there were too many for the castle hall. Elves had come from around the world to witness the first elves being bonded since Godric Gryffindor had died. Hermione stood by Harry's side as the two couples came forward to be bonded and stood in front of him and bowed.

Dobby and Winky stood to the left and his new friends Kronos and Demeter stood to his right. Harry pointed the blade of the sword toward Kronos and rested its tip on the grass. Then turning slightly he read out the long and complex bonding spell and speech, as he finished he looked into the eyes of Kronos and Demeter. Harry finished his speech then added "Kronos and Demeter now bonded as one, know that our love and friendship are yours for as long as we live."

Harry then repeated the whole ceremony again for Dobby and Winky, as Dobby and Winky were mobbed by a whole hoard of house elf's Harry spoke again. "Kronos my friend, I swore an oath that I would protect and preserve the beliefs and customs of the elfish world, and that is why today I revoke the hold on the elves that has been so long held by wizards."

Harry turned the sword in his hands so that he held the blade and pointed the hilt toward Kronos. "Today I hand the sword of light back to the elfish nation, Lord of the Elves should be an elf as it was in the beginning, Kronos I name you Van Frey… Kronos Lord of the Elves."

Kronos stood staring with his mouth open, he looked down at the sword of light and then he looked up into Harry's eyes, then he looked at Demeter.

"Kronos, your sword is getting heavy," Harry said as he smiled at the bemused elf.

Kronos was still not fully comprehending what was happening, he looked around at the gathered elves, there were elves from every land all watching in utter silence as Harry handed Lord ship back to them.

Finally Kronos reached out and took hold of the sword, as he removed it from Harry's hand streams of light swirled and danced around him and bathed him in a multi coloured glow then as one all the lights seemed to soak into Kronos, he glowed a bright golden aura for a few seconds before a huge roar broke out from the elves, their cheers were near deafening as they all tried to touch their new Lord, after thousands of years they once more had an elf as their king. All the spells and charms that bound the elves to wizard kind were broken and ended as Kronos took the sword, even the house elves were suddenly set free and the curse that slowly killed them if not bonded to a wizard or family was ended.

Hermione looked at Harry and tears fell down her cheeks, her smile suddenly vanished in to a blur of brown hair as she flung herself into his arms and kissed him over and over.

Harry could not remember how long he had been standing there kissing Hermione before he became aware of some thing tugging at his trouser leg.

Breaking the kiss he looked down to see Dobby, tears falling from the little elf's huge eyes.

"Yes Dobby?" Harry said quietly.

"Harry Potter truly is the greatest wizard ever, Winky is asking if we's is still being your elves Harry Potter sir?" Dobby said looking hopefully at Harry then Hermione. Harry and Hermione both nodded together and smiled at their little friend "You Dobby Potter are both more than just our elves, you and your bond mate Winky are part of our family now," Harry said making the little fellow cry even more tears.

Kronos swore that Harry would have the help of the elfish peoples as he fought the war against evil, he also promised that news of what Harry had done would be spread through out the nations of the other sentient beings of the magical world.

---

The following morning as Harry and Hermione said goodbye to Helen and Richard, Helen commented on the frenzied activity of the elves who rushed around every which way. Harry had given Kronos a small parcel of land a few hundred metre's away from the castle and elves from around the world were working like crazy demons as they built a home for their new King. Harry chuckled as he watched a dozen huge stones float past, a tiny little house elf underneath them levitating them across the lawn, the reason Harry laughed was because the little guy was so busy watching the stones he was walking in the wrong direction.

Giving his mother in law an extra hug Harry said "See you guy's tonight." Then he tapped the elf made portkey that he and Hermione were holding and they vanished. Harry and Hermione arrived on the track that substituted as a road to the Weasley house, taking a slow steady walk toward the Burrow they stopped occasionally for a kiss or two. Neither of them were worried about what their reception might be like, it had been over a week since they had sent their letters and they had received no replies so they thought in the no news was good news way.

There was a huge gathering in the Burrow garden and all eyes were on him as usual as they reached the gate. Harry held the gate open for Hermione and watched as Mrs Weasley rushed toward them and braced himself for a bone crushing hug. Without pausing Molly Weasley shoved a glass of potion into Hermione's hand saying "Drink that dear, it'll put you right." Before she then walked up to Harry and slapped him hard across his face yelling "How dare you feed Ron's girlfriend a love potion."

Harry stood looking stunned, the woman he had thought of as a mother figure had just slapped him in front of a huge crowd. Slowly his hand lifted to his stinging cheek, but before he could say a word Hermione threw the potion she held at Mrs Weasley then she slapped the older woman's face twice.

"How dare you attack my husband you old hag, as for being Ron's girlfriend just when did that happen, because I sure as hell don't remember it," Hermione was fuming and was pulling out her wand when Arthur Weasley arrived and tried to apologise to Harry. Harry looked at the elder Weasley and still holding his cheek he said "You sir have a very sick family."

Without another word Harry took hold of Hermione's hand turned and walked away. As the Potters walked away Luna Lovegood and her father followed, Luna threw the invitation cards in Mrs Weasleys face "Hermione was never Ron's girlfriend, Lavender Brown was." She spat before walking through the gate after Harry and Hermione. Luna was followed by Neville Longbottom and his grandmother, Neville also threw his invitation card at Mrs Weasley "Ron's been snogging Lavender all over the place all year," he said walking away. By the time all those who were disgusted with Molly Weasley's uncalled for outburst had left to follow Harry there were only six people left in the garden.

Bill and Fleur walked up to Molly, Bill asked "Why mum? Most of this family owe their lives to that boy and you just attacked him without reason."

"Come Bill we will go wiz my family yes? Is no good ere, even ze Druid he iz gone," Fleur said as she pulled Bill down the track that everyone else had walked down.

Molly Weasley stood in shock, her plan had been simple give Hermione the potion and sit back and watch as the love potion was removed from her system and then she would leave Harry and go back to Ron, she had no idea why she had slapped Harry so hard. As she stood there amongst the pile of invites at her feet she suddenly realised she had just ruined her eldest sons wedding day. She turned to Arthur as the tears began to flow; she held out her arms for him, she needed a shoulder to cry on. Arthur looked at her in disgust, the two teens he loved as much as he loved his own children had just been attacked and insulted, he had told Molly all week they should wait to hear what Harry and Hermione had to say, he had expected the news of their marriage to be a pleasant surprise, he had not expected his wife's violent reaction toward Harry.

It took him just a few seconds to decide his eldest son needed him more than this woman who had tainted his life since his Hogwarts days when she had fed him a love potion, and since they had been married he had had to walk carefully, never really voicing his opinion because of her explosive temper, he knew where Ron got all his bad traits from. Turning his back to Molly Arthur set off at a trot to catch up with Bill and Fleur.

Ron stood and watched as his father trotted off down the track, he then turned and looked at all the food and drink still sitting on the tables where it had been laid out, he looked over toward the centre of the garden where there stood the flowered arch his brother was supposed to have stood at to get married, and for the first time in his life he did not feel hungry. He suddenly realised he had just lost his two best friends and his family, and it was all his own stupid fault for being unable to control his jealousy. He had watched Harry and Hermione together, he knew before he fed the love potion to Harry that they were getting closer, he just did not want Harry to have something else he did not have, and now he had nothing.

Ginny stood a few feet from Ron "They really are married," she whispered more to herself. "It was bloody love, the real thing, oh that's just not fair." Ginny looked on the devastated face of her brother "Ron it's not your fault, no love potion can over come true love," she said resigned to the fact she would not be marrying Harry Potter while Hermione was still around.

Molly Weasley walked slowly to the house, she could not quite believe what she had done, she had known since they were just fourteen that Harry and Hermione were in love, she just did not want to believe it because it would spoil her idea of one big happy family. Sitting down in the kitchen she looked around at the wedding preparations, in the centre of the table stood the wedding cake that would not now get touched. She knew that in one of her irrational temper tantrums she had just destroyed her family. She would be lucky if she ever saw or heard from them again.

---

Ottery St Catchpole had never seen so many people, Harry and Hermione had walked hand in hand into the village, when they reached the village pub Hermione had told Harry to take one of the bench seats out side while she went in to get them both a drink they each needed. When Hermione came back out with the drinks Harry was surrounded by people all of them offering him support. Even Bill and Fleur were with him, as she looked at him she could still see the bright red hand print on his face and the pain in his eyes.

An hour was spent at the pub before Harry had an idea; he called out for Dobby who appeared just a few seconds later. Harry whispered something to the little elf and Dobby nodded, the little elf looked around at all the people and then vanished. Dobby reappeared two minutes later with dozens of house elves and spoke to Harry. Harry stood up on the bench he had been sitting on and cleared his throat, the crowd fell silent as they saw him standing waving for some quiet.

"Ok Bill, Fleur, today was supposed to be your wedding day, well our home is already set out for a wedding so if you are still in a mind to get married take the hand of one of the elves and lets go, that goes for all of you, if you still want to be at the Weasley wedding take the hand of one of my little friends and my wife and I will see you back at our home," Harry shouted.

Dobby took the hands of Harry and Hermione and with a loud pop they vanished from Ottery St Catchpole. Several dozen pops later the little village was quiet once more.

****

Richard and Helen Granger sat out on the lawn listening to the conversation of the two small people sitting with them.

"Kronos my love, Lord Harry declared you Van Frey and our people declared you king, you should be happy, you are our first elfish king in five thousand years," Demeter said with a small sigh.

"I am happy, I just want to help," Kronos complained.

"Your majesty," Richard said chuckling "a king really isn't in a position to help build a house."

"Well it's all so unfair, if I can't work here where do we get our food from, who will feed our young when my life-mate and I have them, surely I can do some thing," Kronos said pouting while the three people with him smiled.

"I'm pretty sure Harry will have thought all that out Kronos your majesty dear," Helen said giggling, something she had not done for years.

Demeter was about to speak again when Harry and Hermione appeared with Dobby

"Harry, Hermione I thought… oh Harry love what ever happened?" Helen said as she gave her son in law a welcoming hug. Gently she looked at his cheek that was now beginning to turn into a nasty bruise.

"Mrs. bloody Weasley happened, she attacked Harry as soon as we arrived," Hermione said as a large number of people began to arrive.

Helen looked around at the large gathering with a puzzled look. Hermione explained what had happened and how everyone had followed Harry and herself. While Hermione explained to her mum and dad, Harry made arrangements with the elves to organize another bonding ceremony, a wizard one this time. Harry called Bill and Fleur over and introduced them to King Kronos, king of the elves; he then asked if the King would be willing to add the elfish blessings to the ceremony. The old Druid was found, just a little on the tipsy side but still able to perform the wedding. Harry found Arthur sitting some way off watching the elves at work building a house, "Mr. Weasley, we will need you at the ceremony, it will start in about ten minutes."

"I'm sorry Harry I should have known. After all these years of her temper tantrums I should have known," Arthur said his head bowed in shame at what his wife had done.

"Mr. Weasley you had nothing to do with that, what happened, well it's up to your wife to live with not you. Now come on your son is about to get married and we have king Kronos here to give his blessings."

Bill and Fleur's Wedding was a much bigger affair than they ever expected as elves from around the world joined in the proceedings and the party that took place afterwards. Elf wine flowed freely and as it had a cheering potion added during the fermenting it was well received by everyone. Molly Weasley's attack on Harry was forgotten as the party went on. People danced on a hastily conjured dance floor, and in the midst of it all Harry and Hermione danced happily in each others arms, any lingering thoughts of changing their mind about their former friend were quickly and permanently dispelled.

The next morning Harry woke up and looked out of the window, house elves were busy feeding hang over potions to the many people who had remained or had passed out on the lawn or on the dance floor. Included in those people were Fleur's parents, who later declared they had expected their daughters wedding to be over shadowed by the over bearing Molly, they thanked Harry for having saved the day and for giving them and their eldest daughter a day they would cherish forever.

The house elves conjured a huge round table on the lawn and the two dozen or so guests that were still there all sat around it for breakfast. Harry sat with Hermione to his right and he had insisted that Kronos and Demeter sit with them. The conversation around the table was mostly about how good the day had turned out and what an excellent party they had had. None of the guest's asked about where they were. Half way through the breakfast Hedwig II arrived with a copy of the Daily Prophet, there was a headline article on Mrs Weasleys vicious and unprovoked attack on Harry, but both Harry and Hermione were only interested in a smaller article lower down the page.

'**Elf** **rebellion** **or the end of a cruel captivity'**. by A.T. Jones.

_Hundreds of so called pure blood Wizards and Witches are leaving for work this morning with empty stomachs' due to the overnight disappearance of their house elves. Many purebloods were seen this morning queuing up for food at the Leaky Cauldron most of them complaining about the house elf rebellion._

_This reporter has it on good authority that only elves who have been mistreated have left the houses they serve._

_Why have they been able to leave you may ask, well I also have on the most reliable of sources been informed that the curse that has held the elves as slaves for the past thousand years was broken yesterday by Lord Gryffindor._

_This reporter thanks his lordship for his actions_…

Hermione hugged Harry tight as she finished reading the article "This could make things a little difficult for us, but I am so proud of you." She stated quietly as Arthur Weasley took a turn to read the article.

Harry sat back and chuckled "Oh boy another reason for old moldy shorts to want to kill me, and who would have thought that handing the job of lord of the elves to Kronos would have such far reaching effects."

Hermione sat thoughtful for a few moments before she spoke "I think we should have a honeymoon before we begin our quest. We need to stay away from the magical world for a time while this all settles down."

Harry had almost forgotten what they had to do and Hermione had just reminded him of the enormity of the quest and what Dumbledore expected from them. He also realised that one or both of them might not make it to the end of the coming war. It did not take him long to make up his mind, he wanted to spend some time with Hermione and just be her husband.

"Yeah, I agree with you sweetheart, we'll leave after lunch and visit Gringotts to make some arrangements, I will need a passport and they might be able to help us with the travelling," Harry said quietly in her ear.

By lunch time the grounds of Gryffindor Towers were swarming with house elves who had left their homes for various reasons. Hermione had an idea and told Harry. Harry agreed that her idea was an excellent one and that it would ensure that Kronos would always have an income to support his house hold, which now included ten advisors from different lands. Hermione explained her idea to Kronos. As the house elves were now free, the elfish kingdom could charge an annual tax on any house hold that used the services of elves, those house holds would also have to pay the wages of the elf or elves with whom they would work out a fair rate. All of Kronos advisors agreed with Hermione, they all knew that a Kingdom could not survive without some form of income. All they had to do was to inform the elves and they would inform the humans.

****

Having explained to Helen and Richard that they had decided to take a month off and have a honeymoon, Harry and Hermione offered to take the Grangers home, the Grangers how ever asked if they could stay at the castle till the end of summer, and maybe up to Christmas. Harry and Hermione happily agreed and Harry told his in laws that they were welcome to stay in any house they owned for as long as they liked.

Harry entered Gringotts hand in hand with Hermione, he looked around and the thought that it had been just nine days ago that he last been here and yet so much had changed. Then he had the thought that just ten days ago he had been lying miserable in his little room at the Dursley's, he was still finding it hard not to think he was having his best dream ever. Shaking his head he walked toward one of the tellers.

As the Goblin looked up from his ledger Harry thought about Bill Weasley and what he did for the bank, and an idea formed in his mind. Hermione asked if they might speak with their account manager Mr Griphook.

They had spoken to Griphook for ten minutes about their vaults, they asked him if he could help them to get home tutoring for their NEWT level exams for the coming year. Griphook had promised to do all he could to set them up with some trustworthy tutors. Then they had asked him about making arrangements for them to take a holiday, to go away on a honeymoon. Harry half listened as he formed his idea into something that could work, he knew he could trust his Goblin friend implicitly. So as Griphook finished explaining that they would be staying at a modest apartment near to the Giza plateau under a false name Harry made his decision.

"Griphook, just one more thing, you have a curse breaker by the name of Weasley am I correct?" Harry asked.

Griphook contorted his face to what passed for a smile "Yes Mr Weasley is a brilliant young man, he is attached to our three top search teams, between them they have found some amazing things, why do you ask?"

Harry looked at Hermione before he answered, "Griphook if I asked you to do something that would end the evil that is Voldemort, would you be free and willing to help?" he asked with just a little trepidation. Goblins were not known for working for free.

Griphook's face became serious before he answered "Any one of the Goblin race would be willing to end this threat to our future, if Voldemort should gain power he would no doubt destroy the wizarding economy, so my answer to your question Harry is yes, I would be more than willing to help."

****

Harry was in a good relaxed mood as he and Hermione set off on their honeymoon. Harry had enlisted the help of the Goblin nation in finding Voldemort's horcrux collection, and as he had promised Dumbledore Harry had only told those he knew he could trust about them. He had handed all the clues he had been left by Dumbledore over to Bill Weasley, and the Goblins had put their four top search teams to work finding the evil artefacts, Bill Weasley had promised to help them to destroy the artefacts, something he did quite often as a curse breaker.

****

Hermione decided that due to the risk of getting sunburnt they should spend most of their first week in Egypt in their apartment. It was a decision that Harry was heartily in favour of. They spent many hours discovering every thing they could about one another; their passion seemed to have no boundaries as they made love as often as they could physically manage. Harry was absolutely amazed just how passionate and daring his bookworm wife was, he happened to mention this on their second day on honeymoon.

Hermione smiled at him as she rolled over onto her stomach, "Rub my back a little Harry sweet, and I'll tell you one or two things about bookworms you don't seem to know."

Hermione sighed as Harry massaged her back slowly, his hands working their way toward her buttocks. "We read books Harry love, all sorts of books not just the text books. Did you know that the Kama sutra came from the subcontinent?"

Hermione stopped talking as Harry began to rub her buttocks and as his hands worked a little lower and toward the centre at her coccyx she parted her leg's and lifted the bottom half of her body up from the bed, the position she placed herself in did not take Harry many seconds to know what she wanted. That was how they spent their first three days, using Hermione's amazing ability to recall practically everything she had ever read and putting a lot of the things she had read to the test.

Each day they spent a little time on the balcony of their bedroom, mainly to acclimatize to the strong sunshine, they both found that they could still enjoy the silent moments together just as they had when simply best friends. On the fourth day they finally left their bedroom and took a walk to the local bazaar where they bought a few gifts to give to their friends and family. The month they spent together away from the wizarding world cemented their relationship completely and by the time they arrived back in Britain nothing, not even death would be able to separate them. Another benefit of their being alone as a couple enhanced the ability to know what each other thought, it was an ability they had shared since their first year at Hogwarts but now they could occasionally hear each others thoughts. Their bond became a powerful force on its own.

Two very bronzed and happy teens returned to Gryffindor Towers after their month away. They were both ready to face what ever the world threw at them. Their magic had increased in power, their ability to share each others power enhanced their co-operation when they did things. They were also determined to live through the coming war and raise a family, some thing they both wanted very much.

They also had some good and bad news from Bill Weasley. And a note from Kronos asking to see them as soon as possible.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer, Now you all know I'm not JKR don't you.

A/Note May I offer a sincere thank you to all the readers who have found time to leave a review. Reviews are the only payment we writers of fanfics ever receive. So one more thanks.

Marriage Contract.

Part four

Having read the note from Kronos Harry and Hermione took just enough time to place their trunks into their bedroom before they made their way along the narrow winding path that led them over to Kronos's house. They were met at the door by two rather worried faces that suddenly developed looks of immense relief.

Demeter could not hold back her relief as she first launched herself at Harry and drawing him into the strongest hug she could manage. "Oh thank the mercies!" she exclaimed as she then released Harry and hugged Hermione in the same fashion, "I was so worried, we all were so worried."

Neither Harry nor Hermione had expected anything like this as a welcome home. It was Hermione who managed to gather her wits and ask "What on earth is going on?"

Kronos bowed slightly "Forgive us lady Gryffindor it's just that we… no we should let Eshalia tell you, she is the one who brought us the news."

Demeter rubbed away the tears that were falling down her cheeks and sniffed, "Lord… Harry we should tell you that poor little Eshalia is in lo… well let me just say she would give her very life for you."

The two confused Potters followed Kronos into a rather large well furnished office come study and asked one of his aids if he would be kind enough to fetch Eshalia from the woods. With just the gentlest of pops the Elf vanished, while he was away Demeter poured them all a small glass of elf mead, a very potent drink for a wizard. Both Harry and Hermione carefully took small sips while they waited patiently.

"So this Eshalia is in love with my handsome husband?" Hermione asked chuckling. She looked adoringly at Harry before saying "It seems you are cursed to be forever loved by women who don't even know you."

Demeter sucked in a deep breath at Hermione's words; a look of deep worry mixed with what might have been a little fear flitted across her face before she could stop it.

A gentle knock on the door announced the return of the aid, he had returned accompanied by a beautiful little female. She stood just about two feet tall and was dressed in a short shimmering emerald green dress that seemed to change shades and patterns as she walked. Her slightly pointy tanned face was framed by long forest green hair, hair that hung down to the floor and trailed behind her a little. Her eyes seemed to glow with life, the colour like the vivid sky blue of a summers day seemed to be filled with a warm passion.

Kronos introduced the small female "M'Lord and lady Gryffindor I would like you to meet Eshalia, wood nymph from Ottery woods. Eshalia this is Lord and lady Gryffindor."

The little wood nymph stepped forward and gave a small curtsy to Harry then turned and bowed a little to Hermione. Both of the Potters held out their hands and carefully shook the tiny hand of the wood nymph.

Eshalia looked at Hermione and began to sing, or at least that was what it sounded like to Hermione, the soft gentle singing voice seemed to be gently washing over them, neither Harry nor Hermione could understand the sweet melodious sounds that were coming from Eshalia.

After just a few seconds Demeter understood that the two humans had no idea what it was that Eshalia was telling them, lifting her hand she silenced the little female before she waved her hand in front of the teenagers. With a nod from Demeter Eshalia began again, this time in a voice that they could understand "Mistress Potter I have brought news of treachery and hate, of friendship false and evil."

Hermione looked around at the people in the room with her before she beckoned the wood nymph to continue.

"Twas on the full moon, I left the safety of Ottery woods to visit the gnomes of the red hairs. While there I did see the female red hair brewing a potion, an evil potion that needs to be brewed under the full moon, I did hear her chant and curse and I did hear her quietly speak…" Eshalia took a deep breath and began to cry small silvery tears dripped slowly down her face, taking another deep breath she continued "I did hear her say that once she had fed to you the 'diligo in contemno' potion then Harry Potter would be hers, she did say to the moon that she would take her rightful name as lady Gryffindor. Eshalia does know that you my lady are Harry Potter's true mate, so I came to warn you of the treachery."

Hermione's face turned pale as she looked around at Harry then at Kronos and Demeter "Oh God, she wouldn't!" she gasped. Had Hermione not been sitting she would have fallen down as the horror of what the potion could do flashed through her mind, there was no known cure to reverse the effects the evil potion had. She thought back to when she had first learned about the 'diligo in contemno' potion, she had been reading a new book titled 'The perils of potions' that had mentioned the banned potion, she remembered it mentioned the last witch who had been caught brewing it and the punishment she received, punishment that was still the only one for that crime, it was a punishment that had not been used since the early eighteenth century when a witch had been caught and was hung.

It was a punishment that still remained as a law, one that had never been repealed. For a brief second she wondered if Ginny had any idea what she was doing, but then her thoughts of what it could do once more filled her mind and she knew she had to find some way to prevent Ginny from ever getting the chance to use it.

Ginny Weasley smiled to herself as she congratulated herself for her cleverness. She sealed the envelope on the table in front of her and addressed it.

_Mr Harry and Mrs Hermione Potter_.

'_That fool bookworm will never know what hit her, she will rue the day she took my hero from me' _Ginny thought as she placed the sealed envelope on her table,_ 'I think this calls for a nice cup of tea before I borrow Pig to take my apology letter'_, she chucked as she walked down the stairs from her room, writing the letter had really cheered her up, they would read the letter and forgive her then she would get her chance. She almost let out an evil cackle as she sat at the kitchen table and sipped her tea.

Ron Weasley lay on his bed his mind no longer stuck on thoughts of Quidditch and food; he was trying to work out why he felt so jealous and full of hate for his ex friend Harry Potter. Thoughts of the ragged and over sized clothes that would not even be good enough to clean out cauldrons with, shoes that were held together by some sort of muggle sticking tape.

Ron could honestly tell himself that he had clothes, even though second hand, that were far better than the clothes Harry wore; he thought about the things that Harry had been subjected too in his life, murder of his parents at one year old, cruel hateful guardians, a maniac wizard trying to kill him when ever he got the chance.

Ron knew in his head that he had absolutely no reason for the jealousy he felt and yet he could not work out how to stop himself feeling the way he did. For reasons he did not know or understand he hated Harry Potter. As well as his father, all his brothers that he respected had disowned him, his mother, and younger sister; he had to try to find a way to put his life right, he knew he would never be accepted as Harry and Hermione's best friend again, but he also knew if he could bring himself to apologise and simply become one of their many friends he may just be accepted by his brothers once more. He decided to write a short letter asking Harry and Hermione if he could talk to them, having scribbled the note he rolled the parchment and tied it to his owl. Ron was just about to release Pig widgeon when Ginny knocked on his door; she entered carrying an envelope and asked if she could borrow his owl. He added her letter to the one he was sending and let the owl out of the window.

Harry stood and listened as the tiny wood nymph told about treachery and evil, but he had no idea what the potion was, he knew from Hermione's white face and shaking hands that it had to be bad, they had been through all kinds of danger together and this was the first time he had seen her look quite so worried so scared. "So are you going to tell me why this potion scares you so much, or do I need to look it up?" Harry asked trying with an obviously false pout, to cheer everyone up.

No one cheered in the slightest as Hermione took several deep intakes of air before she began to speak.

"The 'diligo in contemno' potion was banned centuries ago, the sentence just for brewing it is death by hanging," Hermione said as she looked at her husband with a look of love in her eyes "Harry, it turns love into hate, the deeper the love the stronger the hate. There is no antidote or cure once it is administered. For some one who loves as deep and strongly as you do, it would be like a death sentence."

Demeter and Kronos both nodded their heads. "I have sent a copy of Eshalia's memory to your friend, the one you call Tonks, I hope I did the right thing," Kronos said as Harry let the possibilities of what using the potion could do play in his mind.

Hermione made the decision that all their mail should be checked by one of the house elves, the elves were instructed not to touch any mail unless they were wearing dragon hide gloves, and any mail from any Weasley was to be burned instantly. After Hermione made her arrangements over the mail, they visited Gringotts to talk to Bill Weasley. The two Potters were led to an office one floor below where Bill informed them that he and the Goblins had found and destroyed all but one of the Horcrux's. When Harry and Hermione wanted to know which one was left they were surprised to find that it was Slytherins locket that was still lost.

Bill told them of laughing at the stupidity of Dumbledore's portrait when it had told them that the last Horcrux was Harry.

"How do you know he was so wrong?" Harry asked beginning to feel worried.

"Oh it's all quite simple really, I mean you have to be a simpleton to know what you have been through and to still believe that there could be a Horcrux in you," Bill chuckled.

"Huh!" was Harry's intelligent reply.

Bill smiled at the young couple "It simple Harry, Halloween after your first birthday Voldemort finally found you and that encounter left him a ghostly waif, obviously in that condition he was incapable of performing the complicated ritual to create a Horcrux, and even if he had been able to do so you were protected by the ancient magic invoked by your parents death. Then in your first year at Hogwarts Voldemort's waif that possessed Quirrell could not posses you because he could not bear to remain in contact with you. In your second year your blood on the fang of the Basilisk destroyed the first Horcrux."

"But Dumbledore said it was the venom from the fang that destroyed the diary," Harry protested.

Bill looked Harry in the eye "Harry, a snakes fang does not contain venom, true there may have been a tiny remnant left in it after you were bitten, but I doubt there would be enough to do any damage, no the venom is pumped through the fangs from the venom sacks in the snakes upper jaw. Any way even after Voldemort stole some of your blood in your fourth year he was still unable to bear the pain inflicted when he tried to posses you again in your fifth year, so it does not take a genius to realise that any Horcrux would obviously be affected in exactly the same way. If the living piece of his soul could not remain in contact with you then neither could any other piece of his soul, common sense really. That and the Goblins can find no trace of any soul but your own in that wiry frame that Hermione loves so much," Bill chuckled again at the blush on Hermione's cheeks.

It was while Harry thought about what Bill had said when Hermione suddenly let out a gasp. Bill and Harry stared at her for a while as she worked something out in her mind.

"Harry, Bill, I know where the locket is, I don't know why we did not remember sooner," Hermione said looking excited.

"Would you like to enlighten two wizards who don't have your brain power sweetheart?" Harry asked smiling at her expression.

"It's in number twelve Harry, remember the locket we all tried to open, but gave up with it in the end, I think that's the one we need, and it is in Kreacher's bed behind the boiler." She said triumphantly.

Bill nodded and turned to one of the Goblins that were standing guard at the door to the office they were in; Harry gave the address of the house his godfather had left him to the Goblin. Before they left Bill and the Goblins, Harry showed the eldest Weasley son his memory of what the wood nymph had said. Bill was furious and ready to curse his sister with the worst and most painful spell he could think of, when Hermione told him what the punishment was for brewing the potion Bill's head drooped, he knew that they could not let his sister get away with what she was planning, nor could he let the two teens carry the burden of sending Ginny to her death.

It took him but a few seconds to make up his mind, he sent a message to his father and the other Weasley brothers, asking Harry and Hermione to wait until Harry could show them his memory. It was ten minutes later when Arthur Weasley led his sons into the memory; they were all ashen faced when they returned to the normal world. Arthur informed his sons that they would have to report Ginny, "If that potion was given to some one with Harry's ability to love and depth of love he has for Hermione it would almost certainly turn Harry into the next dark lord. Dosing Harry could and would be fatal." Arthur told his sons.

All the Weasley men all nodded in agreement, and they watched as their father sent a message to Amelia Bones, head of the MLE. Thirty minutes later Amelia had seen Arthur's memory and a full Auror search team was sent to the Burrow.

They learned on their return to Gryffindor Towers that two letters had arrived from the Weasleys and had both been burnt, it was two days later that Harry and Hermione were informed that three vials of the evil potion had been found in Ginny's trunk. Two weeks later the two Potters and the two Grangers sat at the breakfast table talking about how Harry could get Voldemort alone so that he could confront him. Harry admitted he did not think he was powerful enough to finish off the evil wizard; he had not been trained even though Dumbledore had known that it would come down to Harry. Where Dumbledore had been prepared to wait for years until Harry was older and more experienced, Harry was not prepared to wait as more and more people were murdered. The last thing he wanted was for Voldemort to come after Hermione or her parents, he knew he would not be able to protect them.

Richard leaned across the table and handed Harry something wrapped in a piece of white linen, Harry unwrapped a polymer .45 semi-automatic handgun.

Harry looked at the gun and then at his father in law, "I have no idea how to use a gun."

"Well I guess I will have to teach you, if you can't protect Hermione with magic then you can protect her with that," Richard said decisively.

Both Harry and Hermione were staring at the gun for quite some time "Power the dark lord knows not," Hermione said as she looked into Harry's eyes.

Harry nodded, "There is no known spell to stop the killing curse, and there is no known spell that would stop a 45 bullet either, not that anyone would have time to even think about stopping one."

Richard arranged to spend the next few days teaching his son in law how to handle the large but light hand gun. Harry was a quick learner and thanks to his practice at hitting a target with a spell he was quick to learn how to hit a moving target with the gun. Now all Harry needed was the chance to use it, and he knew that if it meant keeping his wife safe from the maniac who had so far taken everyone he loved then he would have no hesitation in using the 45.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer, Now you all know I'm not JKR don't you

A/Note May I offer a sincere thank you to all the readers who have found time to leave a review.

Marriage Contract.

Part Five.

Auror Nymphadora Tonks led Harry, Hermione, Kronos, and Eshalia to the seats at the front of the court where four Aurors were already sat in the witness area where they could watch the court but not hear anything said.

Ginny Weasley was going to be facing the entire Wizengamot, not a single member had failed to turn up. Quite a few of them were there in the hope they could prevent a repeat of the farce that Fudge had put Harry through on his last visit to the court.

Hermione shuddered as an expressionless Ginny was led into the prisoners chair sitting in the centre of the room, and chains appeared, wrapping themselves tightly around the red haired ex friend. This was Hermione's first proper visit to the ministry court room, and she shed a tear as she thought about what Harry had been through when he had been falsely accused, arrested chained and tried by these judges and the fool who had been their minister even though they knew he was totally innocent.

Ginny Weasley felt the cold chains as they wrapped around her and she shuddered, through suddenly scared teary eyes she looked at the witnesses, seeing Harry and Hermione she began yelling "This all your fault Granger you scheming boyfriend stealing mudblood slag."

Bill Weasley listened to her outburst and shook his head as he wondered what had happened to the little sister he had loved so much, he tried hard to work out where the family had gone wrong, looking around he could see the rest of his family all looking so down and miserable, all of them that is except Ron who sat beside his father looking as unconcerned as he usually was. Molly Weasley sat being comforted somewhat by her son Charlie, he was the only one of her older sons who would have anything to do with her, she was feeling worse than she had ever felt before, she could not forget that she had practically attacked and hit an innocent boy, a boy she was supposed to love, the boy she had told she thought of him as if he was one of her own. Now one of her own was being tried for doing something that was so foreign to any thing the Weasley or Prewet family's would ever do, they were two family's that held respect in their world for being good honest people. She wondered where she had gone wrong; maybe she should never have let her only daughter get away with so much, then she realised that it had been her own words that had led Ginny to where she was, the many times over the years she had told Ginny that she would one day marry the boy who lived, she had told her so often until the girl truly thought and believed it was her destiny.

Molly looked over and saw the two young teens who had given so much love and respect to her and her family, a deep seated shudder ran through her when she thought of what the results might have been had a little wood nymph not fallen in love with the black haired little boy who spent so much of his young life visiting them in Ottery St Catchpole, he had played and walked in Ottery wood. What the dire results would have been with two powerful people who had so much love to give had they been given Ginny's potion was unthinkable. She could no longer look at the girl she had given life too and her stomach churned.

Evidence and statements were given by the witnesses as they one by one were called forward. Eshalia was accompanied by Kronos who was dressed in his finest clothes with the sword of the Van Frey resting on his right hip sheathed in an amazingly decorated scabbard, he looked like the King he was, and was treated with courtesy and respect.

Ginny finally began to understand what she might have done if she had not been caught. As the prosecutors' potion master read out the reasons why this potion she had brewed was banned. She felt her stomach turn over as the potion master told the court that even he could not work out what may be a safe or lethal dose, he then went on to say that if given this potion the best Mr and Mrs Potter could have expected to happen would be turning into another Voldemort, the worst in the potion masters view was a slow painful and lingering lonely death.

Ginny began to cry hard, with her realisation, she could have killed Harry and Hermione, him the boy she wanted to marry, and the other, her best friend, then the thought of all the people who could have been killed if Harry and Hermione had both turned to the dark side began to haunt her as well.

Arthur Weasley could only sit and listen while he felt the shame that first his wife then his only daughter had brought on them, his face showed none of the pain and sorrow he felt, suddenly he turned and hissed at his most stupid son to shut up, he actually felt like hitting the boy as he muttered about not being able to pass his exams if Hermione was dead. Arthur could not believe Ron was worried about failing his school exams while his sister was facing a possible death sentence.

After all the evidence had been heard there was no doubt that Ginny was guilty, Bill hoping his sister did not get sentenced to be put through the veil of death led his brothers Fred and George out of the courtroom as the sentence was read out.

Ginny sat sobbing while she was found guilty and sentenced to fifty years in Azkaban prison, she vaguely heard the main judge speaking as he said she would have her wand snapped, she would not be allowed to finish her schooling at Hogwarts, and she would, due to her age be placed into the custody of Augusta Longbottom for five years, when at the end of that time her sentence would be reviewed. She was however informed that she was banned for life from ever performing any more magic, she was to live as a squib for the rest of her life or she would be placed in Azkaban to complete her sentence. "I just hope Madam Longbottom can teach you the way a young lady should behave."

Ron watched as his sister was led away by Augusta Longbottom who was accompanied by her grandson Neville. As soon as they had gone through the doors Ron leapt up and rushed across the court room to where Harry was comforting Hermione.

"Harry how are you, still pretending you two are married, I tell you I was fuming at first, sorry about telling mum you stole my girlfriend, but I mean how was I supposed to know about your plan, I mean I don't even know why you are doing something so crazy, but now I've thought about it I know you could never really love Hermione, I mean she's not exactly pretty or any…" Ron fell silent as Hermione slapped him.

With a snarl Ron turned toward her, his hand raised to slap her back. Just a split second later all the lights in Ron Weasley's world went out as Harry gave him a right hook, catching him under his chin.

"Hermione love when you called him a prat, I don't think you used the right words, I think bloody thick or stupid should have been added," Harry said as several people lifted Ron from the floor after enervating him.

Hermione nodded to him before she whispered "Language Harry!"

With shoulders slumped the Weasley patriarch offered his apologies to Hermione for his youngest son's stupid and hurtful remarks before he made his way out of the room, taking his youngest son with him.

The next morning at breakfast Harry was handed the morning paper by one of the elves, he quickly read the main headline

'**Another amazing twist in the ongoing story of the boy who lived'**

'Ginevra Weasley ex girlfriend of Harry Potter was today sentenced to fifty years in Azkaban for the…'

Not bothering to read any further he handed the Daily Prophet to Hermione and then went about finishing his food. He was still finding it hard to figure out just when it was his ex friend Ron had become so thick.

As he chewed slowly at his food he remembered all the times they had had help from Hermione, all the pushing she had given to both of them while at Hogwarts, as his memory worked through the years since their friendship began he realised that without her help he him self would have struggled with all the exams, but he also realised that with out Hermione's badgering and constant help Ron Weasley would never have got through his first year exams. He realised that Ron had always been stupid, they had just never really noticed how stupid, or maybe they had just ignored it. Ron's words at the court entered his mind, why on earth did Ron want her to be his girlfriend if he did not think she was good looking, after a few minutes he gave up trying to work out how his ex friend's mind worked and looked over at his father in law.

After breakfast Harry left Hermione to sort out what they needed to learn to defeat Voldemort and to organise for some tutors to train them. While Hermione set to work Harry walked with Richard searching for a safe place to learn how to handle a hand gun. Richard taught Harry all he knew about guns and shooting, it was not much but by the time the day was over Harry was able to use the gun along side his wand.

Helen Granger woke the teens early on the Monday morning with a cup of tea in bed, Hermione still managed to blush when her mother caught her in bed with Harry, even though they were married and had been asleep.

"You have visitors waiting, I have asked Winky to serve them some tea in your study, so hurry up and get your tea drunk and I'll see you down there shortly," she said as the two bleary eyed youngsters took the offered cups.

Thirty minutes later Richard led them outside to meet with Tonks, she was now their new physical training instructor, Remus who was going to be teaching them charms, and an ancient looking Welsh man who introduced himself as Emrys Conwy. Harry could not help making the comparison between this new tutor and his old mentor Albus Dumbledore, intrigued he asked the ancient wizard if he had known Dumbledore.

"Ah yes, young Albus he was a rather good student, it's a great shame he lost sight of the way," Emrys said rather quietly.

"What do you mean lost sight of the way?" Hermione asked failing to understand his meaning.

While she waited for his answer she remembered the letter that had been sent to her three days before, now she thought about it she could not remember answering the letter from Emrys offering them tuition in the art of combat and transfiguration, she then wondered how the old man had found them without one of them writing down the hidden address for him. While she pondered the strangeness of it all, the old wizard began to answer her question with a question of his own.

"You know the prophesy, you know the destiny you both share, why then did Albus not train you, why did he keep Mr Potter a virtually abused and mistreated prisoner for sixteen years?"

All eyes turned to look at Harry, they had all known he hated living with his relatives, though none knew why, they also knew that Harry had never known what it was like to wander around freely like other kids. They had all accepted Dumbledore's word that the time's Harry was forced to stay at his aunts house was for his protection. Remus and Tonks looked at each other as they realised that they had been part of the team that were Harry's jailors and not his protectors.

Hermione looked at her husband and she could see a deep sadness in his eyes as he remembered how he had been treated as he grew up. She had always wondered why he returned from the holidays with his family, always looking sadder and thin and tired, she had meant to ask him about it one day, but that day had never arrived.

"It's time to let them know what it was like Harry," Emrys said as he placed a bony hand on the teens shoulder.

Harry looked deep into the eyes of the old man for a few seconds before he nodded his head in resignation. Emrys turned from Harry to face the three people who were closest to the boy, the woman he loved, the old family friend who had taken his godfathers place and the only other woman Harry had trusted with his life, because he could see the love in her that she had for him and his wife.

As Emrys stared at them Harry saw three sets of glazed over eyes, it took merely seconds before the three of them suddenly looked horrified. In those few seconds they had seen the life led by Harry Potter when he lived with his only blood relatives. Hermione and Tonks both had tears flowing down their cheeks as they saw the things Harry had been through, living in constant fear of his guardians, sleeping in a small smelly cupboard with only the blanket he had been wrapped in as a baby, lacking not only bodily sustenance and comfort, but also starved of any sort of love. They saw all the beatings and verbal assaults, and they heard the words that had made such an impression on the young boy, he was a hated freak, not worth the air he breathed, not fit to live and be loved. In just those few seconds Hermione learned so much about the man who was her husband, she learned just how deeply he loved those he chose as trusted friends. She also learned of exactly how much he loved her above everything and everyone. When they awakened from the trance that Emrys had put them in Hermione kissed Harry with all the love she could muster.

"One day soon Harry we will have the children and family that you long for, I promise you," she told him as she stepped back a little.

Emrys suggested that they take the rest of the day off, "We have much to do on the morrow, but today you should be with your friends and family, we leave in the morning."

"Leave! Where are we going?" Harry asked as the old man began to walk away.

"Tomorrow we leave here, we will return in one week," was all Emrys said with out stopping.

Four confused people watched as he walked into Gryffindor Towers and out of sight. Three of those watching needed some time to be alone with their thoughts to think about the horror of the life of young Harry Potter and why the man they had all trusted had subjected Harry to that sort of life. Harry spent the rest of the day with the two Grangers, he told them about his life and what was expected of him, by the end of the day they were no longer just Helen and Richard, as he turned to wish them a good night.

"Night mum, dad, see you in the morning," he said kissing Helen on the cheek and hugging Richard.

Two Grangers smiled at each other as they realised that Harry had now accepted them as his family.

Emrys woke them all early the following morning and bid them wish their family and friends goodbye. Hermione noticed when Harry hugged Helen and said,

"See you in a few days mum."

She looked on as her dad hugged Harry tightly "Take care of my little girl, and keep her safe son," Richard said.

Harry returned the hug and answered "With my life dad, with my life."

Hermione hugged her mum and dad goodbye with oddly mixed feelings, she was sad to be leaving them and yet she was happy that Harry called them mum and dad.

With their goodbyes said, Emrys waved his hand and a blue circle of light formed around them, they all covered their faces as the circle turned to a bright light and then flashed much to brilliantly for their eyes. Seconds later the light faded and they found them selves standing in what looked like an ancient oak wood.

A voice behind them made them all jump, Harry spun on the spot his wand some how appearing in his hand and pointing to where the voice came from.

"Welcome Lord and lady Gryffindor, Remus, Tonks."

Standing in front of them was a rather tall man, he stood at around six foot two and looked strong and powerful, his clothes seemed to be of a much older style than even those worn in the wizarding world they knew. It was only then that Harry realised they had accepted what Emrys had said to them, and done as he told them without once questioning it, and he wondered why they had done so, 'So much for constant vigilance' he thought.

"Where exactly are we?" Hermione asked as she took Harry's hand in hers and held him tightly.

The tall man bowed to her before he answered "Avalon, lady Hermione, you are just outside the castle," the tall man answered, then as he studied the faces of the new arrivals he chuckled, "I see Emrys once again failed to explain things, come let us walk to Camelot and I will tell you…" he frowned at the old man, "Yes I will tell you what Emrys seemed to forget about."

With that the tall man started to walk away, Harry was the first to move pulling Hermione with him as he followed the stranger. Tonks and Remus followed, none of them noticed that Emrys had vanished.

"First let me introduce myself, my given name is Art-ur, I was then given the name Arthur by the writers of history, mind you according to them I would appear to be dead, though I don't ever remember dying," he let out a chuckle before continuing, "I was chosen to be the protector of the Britons, I sent Emrys to fetch you, we will be training you in the old ways, Harry and you Remus will be taught in the methods of warfare, while lady Hermione and Nymphadora are taught in the true ways of the ancestors of my lady Guinevere.

Hermione stared at Arthur supposed dead king of ancient Britons, and the stories she had read about him flitted through her mind. "The stories I have read about you and your wife are false I suppose?" she asked looking down at her feet.

"Ah yes, I have heard that my lady was supposed to have betrayed me, Guinevere was amused when first we heard, but know you this, for near two thousand years we have been together, we have fought the enemies of this land and it's people so many times, but never have we been unfaithful, for if we were we would surely die," Art-ur answered with a smile at the blushing Hermione.

They walked on talking and listening as Art-ur told them what they would be doing, they were all so intent on listening they did not notice when they first reached the edge of the woods. They all looked up when Harry murmured "Bloody hell."

They looked up to see what he was staring at and then all four of them stopped and stared amazed at the sight in front of them.

A/Note sorry about the cliff hanger but then I'm guessing that most all of you know what they are looking at.

Again thanks to those of you who are reviewing, even the one or two who delight in always knocking other people's stories but never have the courage to leave their name so we can read their work to make some sort of comparison.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer, If I was J.K. Rowling then Ron Weasley would have disappeared from the last book after he deserted them and Hermione chose Harry.

A/Note, just a thought, when given the choice Hermione made her decision and chose Harry over Ron, then together Harry and Hermione went through some real hardships, lived in a small tent together and grew so close that they constantly held hands or placed their arms around each other.

So my question to JKR is why would she then go against all her previous decisions and finally chose Ron over Harry simply because he said something nice about house elves?

Romance or love does not grow from hate, anger, and hurt which is basically all that Hermione and Ron shared through out the whole story apart from a friendship with Harry. All that rubbish about their sexual tension doesn't exist in the books.

Thanks all the folks who reviewed.

Marriage Contract.

Part Six.

Nine long and hard months full of hard training in all kinds of magic, most of it wand and soundless, along with strenuous physical training in unharmed combat, had passed since they had arrived in Avalon, Hermione thought back to that first sight of the place they were to call home for a while. Sighing she patted Asher her unicorn, in reply Asher rustled his huge wings and then bowed to Hermione. As she brushed the unicorns silver white mane she talked quietly to him, telling him how well he was doing and how much she appreciated his help through all the training. She also had quite a few one way conversations with him, but she could always feel a sense of him talking back to her, and sometimes even enjoying the conversation, she also got the sense that he shared a laugh with her if she told him about something funny that happened.

"You know Asher when we first saw our old school Hogwarts we all gasped at the sight, none of us had seen anything so magnificent looking. The castle stood there against the darkening sky with yellow lights glistening from the various windows, it was looking almost regal. I truly thought I would never see anything more amazing or more beautiful. That is until that day we first walked out of the oak woods and first set eyes on Camelot, seeing all those magnificent marble towers and walls, viewing a fairytale castle that was as big as a town. The great oak doors and the gleaming walls of the most magical place there is was a wonder to all of us, but all that simply does not compare to the day I met you," Hermione said as she petted him once again.

Asher nodded his head and once again rustled his wings and then nuzzled her gently.

"You are very handsome you know, nearly as handsome as my Harry," she chuckled a little, "enjoy your dinner and then sleep well Asher my handsome steed, for tomorrow we have more work to do."

Harry was off outside the castle, taking a walk to a nearby hilltop, he stood looking out over most of the isle of Avalon, and from where he was he could see rolling hills, valleys, woods, and a river. All around the area he could see people, elves, Goblins, and even gnomes, and Trolls all living peacefully side by side with just about every type of magical creature. In the valleys he could see farms, wisps' of smoke rose slowly from their chimneys, while all kinds of animals walked around freely in their pastures.

As he watched he had dreams of making his own world a more peaceful and harmonious place. If all these different creatures could live in such harmony then surely the wizards and witches of his world should be able to get along. 'To live and let live' was a Muggle saying he had heard some where and he wanted to make it a way of life in wizarding Britain, and he swore he would do all he could to bring about a lasting peace what ever it took. A world where all those sentient creatures could be equal instead of out casts, who were looked down on. Walking slowly he headed back toward the castle it was time to join his wife; she should be finishing her training by the time he got back.

Harry watched as Hermione placed her unicorn into the stable, he was to far away to hear anything she was saying but he knew she was letting Asher know she loved him, Harry thought she might love Asher almost as much as she loved him and he felt a small twinge in his heart for his wife. He knew that she would be so very upset when she had to say goodbye the day they returned to their own magical world.

For nine months they had studied magic with Emrys, and Harry had also learned how to fight with various weapons as Art-ur trained him, and the knights had taught him and the others tactics and sword fighting and all manner of fighting techniques. His magic had grown here in Avalon as had he, in the first week the magic of Camelot had reversed all the damage done to his body through starvation and neglect while he grew up with the Dursleys, he now stood eight inches taller than before, his shoulders were broad and his body muscular, he stood just an inch taller than Art-ur.

All of them, Harry, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks had doubled their magical power which meant that Harry was able to do anything Emrys asked of him with no problems. Emrys seemed ecstatic when he told Harry that he was the first one in one thousand four hundred years to be his equal, and Hermione was not far behind them.

As Hermione joined him in the courtyard he took her hands in his and bending down he kissed her tenderly, "Hello my sweet love," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she slipped her arm around his waist.

Hermione looked up into Harry's eyes and saw the love he had for her shining in them, "Come on husband of mine, I want you so much," she said as she began pulling him toward the doors of the entrance hall, a willing but laughing Harry followed behind her as they ran up the main stair case.

The following morning as Harry practiced his new magic, casting with out spells or charms, simply willing his magic to do what he wanted with the use of only his thoughts and hands, he was totally surprised when the sword of Gryffindor suddenly appeared in his right hand.

"Ah the time has come, today will be your last day in Avalon Lord Harry," Emrys said looking at the sword "I shall fetch the King. Please wait here."

Emrys returned just a few minutes later accompanied by Art-ur, "Emrys tells me you have received Godrics sword. He was a just and good man, he too trained here to save the land from evil, it would seem it is always to be the destiny of your family."

Harry nodded as he held out the magnificent sword, "It just appeared," Harry said slightly awed.

"That means you are needed back in your world, remember Harry you have trained hard, you are a great warrior wizard, all of you are and I am sure you are ready to remove the evil that is spreading through the world of magic," Art-ur said as he pulled Harry into a bear hug.

That afternoon as Harry and Remus worked through their last training session with the King and the Knights of the Round Table, Hermione and Tonks were doing their last battle support training with Guinevere. Mounted on their flying unicorns both Hermione and Tonks swept down on a multitude of death eater practice dummies, the death eaters were all charmed and transfigured to act like the real thing, the only real difference being the mild spells they cast at the female warriors as they swept down on them from the clear sky.

Hermione whooped with pleasure when Asher pulled out of a headlong dive and spread his huge wings, twisting and turning as they flew at speed over the heads of the enemy Hermione yelled a battle cry as she swung her jewel encrusted battle sword left and right, taking out several death eaters with each swing of the gleaming sword, while Asher helped using his hooves to hit any who came within range of him.

Tonks sat astride her unicorn Heridos, and watched the younger woman who just a few short months ago had been terrified of flying; it was hard to believe the woman now swinging a sword like a crazed Amazon was the same Hermione.

Guinevere had taught them both well in the arts of warfare, they could now fight better than any normal wizard with or without magic, having a warrior Queen train Hermione and herself and instill such great confidence in them, was some thing Tonks would always be thankful for, because she knew what Harry had to face, and she knew that as long as Hermione lived he would not be allowed to face it alone.

Tonks also knew that she and Remus would be there all the way, they would help Harry and Hermione to the end. Tonks then thought about Remus, he had shown no sign of his illness while he had been at Camelot, he had been through three full moons with no effect on him at all and she wished it was the same in their world, she had fallen in love with him and he with her. She had finally made him see that his being a werewolf did not worry her at all and she was willing and happy to live her life with him, no matter how long or short it may be. Shaking her head she urged Heridos forward and joined Hermione in the battle.

Guinevere watched the two warrior witches with pride. She remembered how excited Hermione was meeting a white winged Unicorn named Asher. That is until she was told he would be her steed, and she would be learning how to ride him into battle. Guinevere could see Hermione's eyes turn from joy to fear as she looked at Asher's huge wings. The fear of flying and of heights was something Hermione had had to fight through, but with Asher's help and understanding it had taken just a week before Hermione was urging the unicorn on, asking him for more speed and more excitement. The two witches had trained hard in all the training they had been put through, never once complaining, Guinevere could see the determination they both had to learn to be able to fight along side their men, and she was pleased, it was as it should be. Hermione and Tonks would help Harry and Remus restore the power of good in the land she and Art-ur had been taken from fourteen hundred years before, the prophesy of Art-ur helping Britain in a time of great need would be spoken of once again by all the magical creatures of the land, air, and water.

Remus watched as Harry battled three knights, they held nothing back as they swung their wooden training swords at the young man hoping to hit him, Harry though was exceptionally nimble and so very hard to hit, time and time again he parried their thrusts and then swatted them with the flat of his blade. Remus remembered their first weeks of training when they had both been disarmed almost as soon as the bout began, it was two months before Harry had his first win, and a month later when he himself had his first draw, it had not been the win he wanted but he was still jubilant about it. The Knights had done their job well and taught them both so much he found it hard to believe they had only been here for nine months. He had learned more in those nine months than he had learned in his entire life before.

After Harry had disarmed two of his opponents Remus found himself being called forward, it was now his turn, as he walked to the centre of the training area and bowed to the Knights he thought about how everything in his life had changed so completely, he was now twice as powerful as he had been, he was physically fitter and stronger than he had ever imagined possible, the one thing that made him happier than he had ever been was the love that Tonks had for him despite what he was.

Two hours later their last training session in Avalon was over, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Tonks walked tiredly and sadly up to their rooms. Avalon was a place that nobody wanted to leave once they had been there and the four of them were no different than anyone else in that respect. Later that evening a huge party was thrown for them, people celebrated in the streets of Camelot as news that the newcomers were ready to return to their land and bring about peace once more.

In the great banqueting hall of the castle King Art-ur and Guinevere gave each of the Britons a cloak and a shield, each emblazed with their own coat of arms, Hermione, and Tonks were told they could keep the swords they had been given, and Remus was presented with a broad sword by Art-ur.

Harry still had the sword of his ancestor, it now rested in its scabbard on his hip, held in place by a gold and silver encrusted leather belt.

Emrys informed Remus that he would never suffer from his affliction again, "The magic of Camelot is much greater than the curse of the werewolf," he said to a truly happy Remus and Tonks.

The next morning as they walked slowly into the oak woods after many tearful goodbyes Hermione gave Harry's hand an extra squeeze, "I shall miss Asher so much," she said as a few fresh tears ran down her cheek. Harry held her tight trying to comfort her with his love.

Tonks was looking just as miserable having had face the fact that she would be leaving behind the friend she had made in Heridos; she would truly miss him and the excitement of flying on his strong back. Remus wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulders and tried to comfort her, but it made little difference, like the others Tonks did not like to lose her friends, especially close ones like her magnificent Heridos.

Emrys led them to the same place they had arrived, none of them had looked back as they left Camelot, their minds were too full of thoughts of things they had done, and things they would miss, and the things that were to come. They were all ready for the coming war but none of them actually looked forward to it, they did not look forward to having to kill people. Lifting his hand Emrys once again created the magical vortex that would allow them back into their own world, led by Harry they one by one stepped into the bright blue light and vanished.

Emrys stepped through the light last, and as he appeared on the lawn of Gryffindor Towers he was flanked by the two winged unicorns. Both Hermione and Tonks rushed forward and as if they had been choreographed they both threw there arms around their friend and hugged him tight.

Dobby and Winky were the first of their friends who saw them return, both of the elves hugged Harry and Hermione and then rushed off to tell the Grangers and make some breakfast. Over breakfast the four returning warriors discovered that it was only three full days since they left, they had returned on the Friday morning. Both Helen and Richard commented on the amount Harry had grown and about the tans they all had, Helen was amazed at Harry's muscle growth that had occurred in just three days, while Richard remarked about how tall Harry now stood, and she said so as she hugged him in welcome.

As they ate they were joined by Kronos and Demeter, Kronos told them about a plan by Voldemort and his death eaters to attack Diagon Alley at lunchtime the next day, they had received reliable information from an elf of Malfoy's who had been able to get away to carry the news.

The rest of the day was spent making preparations for the coming fight, Remus left to get the Order of the Phoenix ready, and to inform his contacts in the Ministry. Jointly Harry, Hermione and Tonks made their plans; Harry would fight the death eaters at ground level, while Hermione and Tonks would take up positions on the roof tops either side of the alley. Richard volunteered to keep Harry's back covered, he had fought before while serving in the army and he was not about to let his son in law go with no one to watch out for him. Kronos also volunteered, he along with five of his best elves would appear behind the death eaters and fight them from the rear. With their plans laid they decided to rest for the remainder of the day.

Emrys was unable to take part in the fight and he left to return to look after his beloved Avalon. Helen and Demeter were introduced to Asher and Heridos, who having been admired by the women wandered off to graze and frolic around until it was time to go into battle.

That evening they received a letter from Remus informing them that a very warm welcome would be awaiting the attackers when they arrived. The Weasley twins had promised to keep their shop open so that Harry and Richard could use their floo connection. Harry and Hermione went to bed early after spending a couple of hours in the library, "Will we be okay?" Hermione asked Harry as they undressed for bed.

"Well we have trained hard, we are about as ready as we ever will be, though I don't know if anyone is ever ready to go into battle with a deadly enemy, still it's time we showed Voldemort that he is no longer going to get things all his own way," Harry told her as they climbed into bed. Wrapping his arms around Hermione as they lay face to face Harry smiled at her "How about I spend the next hour or two showing you how much I love you?"

"I heard that fighters should go with out sex the day before a big fight," Hermione said with a giggle.

"Nah! That's just boxers wives telling them that so they won't fall for any of the fan girls," Harry said joining in with a chuckle.

"Well you happen to have quite a large number of fan girls I seem to remember," Hermione chuckled.

"Ah how right you are, maybe I should do as you say and simply go to sleep," he laughed then lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes, it would have been quite effective if he could have kept a straight face and not show the huge grin he was displaying.

"Harry James Potter, don't you dare to fall asleep on me," Hermione falsely pouted a little.

The two teens released their tensions in each others arms, several times until they were both a little too tired to carry on; wishing each other goodnight with one more kiss they both fell into a peaceful sleep in each others arms.

A/Note, I have a question for all you Potter book fans, How did Draco and the rest of the Death eaters know Dumbledore would arrive on the tower, after all he left without a broom and I'm pretty sure he could not fly. Its just another of the glaring mistakes in JKR's work, rather like the 1000 year old sink and taps fitted in the second floor girls toilet hundreds of years before they were invented. Or all the drainage piping system leading to the chamber of secrets.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer, If I was J.K. Rowling then I would have stuck to the original story line and not changed the pairings in book six, still if the movie makers say the word…

A/Note,

For those reviewers who answered my question about Dumbledore and arriving on the tower, first to those referring to Rosemerta being under the imperious charm, I think if you check she was not the one who suggested brooms. To those who said they went to the tower to investigate the dark mark in the sky above, I don't agree with you, if I remember the dark mark was always in the sky and I don't recall anywhere when the Aurors landed on the rooftops of houses to investigate who died, which would be the normal home equivalent to the tower at Hogwarts. I think it is just one of many errors in the original books. As are the thousand year old taps (faucets)… Thank you for all the reviews I received… Now on with the story.

Marriage Contract.

Part Seven

The tension on Diagon alley could be felt by everyone there as midday approached, shoppers were prevented from leaving what ever shop they were in and were ushered into back rooms or cellars. Volunteer Aurors gathered by Kingsley Shacklebolt, were in disguise as they wandered the street ready to drop their shopping bags or packages at a moments notice to fight off the expected attack. Members of the Order of the phoenix stood waiting in the back rooms of the Weasleys shop. Hermione sat astride Asher on the roof of the Leaky Cauldron while Tonks was mounted on Heridos waiting on the roof of Flourish and Blotts. Harry and Richard were sitting in the Leaky Cauldron talking to Tom the owner, they were the only people in the bar as Tom had ushered all his customers out into Muggle London.

"It should all start within the next five minutes if what we were told is true," Richard said as he looked at his watch for the hundredth time that day.

As he finished speaking they heard the unmistakable sound of maybe dozens of apparation pops and cracks coming from the street outside. All three men rushed to look out of the windows. Out side around fifty dark cloaked and masked death eaters had begun to spread out ready to wreak havoc on the Magical centre of Britain.

Harry stepped out of the pub into the path of the advancing death eaters, Richard stood right behind him, his head swinging from the approaching killers to the street behind them, alert for any attempt to get at Harry from behind. The cold powerful and authoritive voice that rang out stopped the advance of the death eaters in their tracks. "Surrender or Die!" Harry called to them. At least a dozen of the death eaters dropped their wands and placed their hands behind their heads before they realized that there were fifty of them facing just two. Their obvious leader stepped forward cautiously and as soon as he spoke Harry knew it was Lucius Malfoy.

"Ahh! Young Potter, my, my you have grown, so much more of you to use as a target, now why don't you step aside there's a good boy?" Lucius said before laughing.

"Can I kill him, please let me kill him," came the evil voice of Bellatrix Lestrange "I'm sure the master would be pleased."

Lucius suddenly raised his wand but before he could even begin to mutter a curse Harry sent a reducto spell at him, the spell tore through Lucius at the shoulder taking his arm off and shattering his shoulder bones to pieces, the spell carried on past what was left of Lucius, and took the heads off three more death eaters standing behind him. Stunned death eaters then suddenly found them selves under spell fire from all directions as Aurors, Order members, and elves began to pour spells and curses in to their midst. The death eaters without their leader and no where to find cover were a shambles, only a few of them began to fight back. Even they gave up the fight when they were assaulted from the air by two seemingly crazed amazons that descended into their midst on white stallion unicorns wielding lethal swords and screaming out a blood curdling war cry. With sword, hooves, and spells, Hermione and Tonks swept through the ranks of the fighting death eaters wounding or killing any that got in their way.

Harry cornered Bellatrix near to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron; it was obvious she hoped to make an escape.

"Oh does de wickle Potty wanna pway," she said in her mocking falsetto.

Harry watched as she cast a spell at him and just before it reached him he simply vanished, reappearing after the spell had passed, "Time to pay the piper," he said as he pointed a finger at the most evil woman alive.

"Crucio," Bella screamed with venom, then her eyes widened with fear as her spell hit the man in front of her and he did not even flinch.

"Avda K…" Bella stopped speaking when a curse hit her hand and shattered it disintegrating three of her fingers, and burning her wand to a cinder. A second spell hit her in the chest making it impossible for her to breathe, "Time to join your ancestors," Harry said on her left as he turned away, his created image in front of Lestrange faded from view. He had learned his lessons from Art-ur well.

When Harry turned back to the main street Hermione and Tonks were rounding up the injured death eaters along with several Aurors. Quite a few bodies lay around mainly in the centre of the street, looking around Harry saw only two bodies that wore the red robes of the Auror core; all the others wore black and had white masks.

Harry was just reaching Hermione's side when minister Scrimgeour approached accompanied by Umbridge. Who instantly began to yell that she was placing Harry under arrest for murder. Within seconds of Umbridge's out burst the two ministry officials found them selves completely surrounded by armed and extremely angry Goblins who seemed to silently appear from nowhere. Ragnok leader of the Goblin nation stepped through the crowd of guards, "Minister, why is it that a criminal is allowed to talk to Lord Gryffindor in such a manner?" he asked.

Rufus Scrimgeour looked like he had just swallowed something awful; gulping several times he began to stammer that under secretary Umbridge was not a criminal. Ragnok his eyes growing wide asked why she was not in Azkaban after her physical attacks on the students of Hogwarts. It was obvious that Scrimgeour had no idea what the head of the Goblin nation was talking about when he asked for a private word. Umbridge tried to talk him out of talking to the Goblin till Harry stunned her with a very mild curse.

Ragnok and Scrimgeour disappeared into Gringotts only reappearing fifteen minutes later, the first thing Scrimgeour did when he rejoined the Aurors who were now standing around Harry, Hermione, and Tonks all the law officers had their wands drawn and were stood with their backs facing the Potters. It was quite easy to see who's side the Aurors were on and it was not the ministries. Scrimgeour straightened his shoulders before he ordered the arrest of Umbridge on attempted murder charges.

Ragnok looked up at Harry and nodded slowly before he spoke "And so it begins My Lord, your treatment of the elves has brought you more power than you or any wizard could know. You have the full support of all the good magical beings at your command. Now my Lord if there is nothing more for today we will return to our work."

Harry and Hermione were joined by Remus and Tonks, all four of them watched open mouthed as the Goblins returned to Gringotts, leaving a rather ashen looking Scrimgeour. Harry gave a quick nod to the minister before he turned to those he had fought with. "Today we struck a blow at the darkness that mars our lives, today marks the beginning of the end for Voldemort, thank you all for coming." Harry said then turned to take Hermione's hand in his. A small pop marked their leaving. Aurors began to lead away the death eaters who were still able to walk.

Harry arrived back at Gryffindor Towers to an anxious Helen Granger and Demeter, both of them jumped from their seats and rushed forward to greet the arrivals, Kronos arrived with Richard just a few seconds later followed by Remus and Tonks.

"Oh thank heaven you are all okay, when the unicorns arrived without you I thought, well I thought, never mind you are all safe," Helen said as she hugged Richard tightly.

"You should have seen our little girl, she swooped on those murderers like an avenging angel," Richard told her as he held her tight.

Demeter was welcoming the elves home in a very similar fashion, beginning with the youngest, when she reached Kronos, she hugged him and then took a step back, "Alaina told me this morning, we are to become parents," she said a huge smile lighting her face.

Kronos stood in shock for a few seconds before he reached forward and picked Demeter off her feet, sweeping her into a loving hug. "I'm going to be a father?"

Demeter nodded and chuckled at the amazement in her life mates eyes, "Yes my love, we are to be parents, the first elves since Lord Godric died."

The eyes of everyone were fixed on the two elves as the news was given to the king amongst them, as soon as Kronos let go of his mate he was swamped by several wizards and house elves all offering their congratulations, Demeter was surrounded by the females as they all asked questions, when will the child arrive, have you a name yet, how does it feel to be the first in so long a time? Were just some of the questions she was asked as she was led away by the women.

For a few moments Hermione wondered when she would be able to break the same news to Harry, she knew it could not be while Voldemort still lived, but she wanted children, she was ready to become a mother, a little envy passed over her for a moment as she saw the glow in Demeter's eyes. Then putting her personal thoughts aside she offered her congratulations to those of the other women. Harry was having similar thoughts to his wife, he had always wanted his own family, as he looked around he knew the people he was looking at were his family but it was not the same as having your own flesh and blood, shrugging off the thoughts he ordered that a celebratory party be organized for the evening.

News of King Kronos and Demeter's pregnancy swept through the elfin nation and within hours every elf in the world had heard. Envoys began to arrive from forests and woods and castles from around the world, house elves that were now free gathered together and began to celebrate. The elfin nation would grow strong once again, and once again they would help and protect the great Lord Gryffindor and his family and heirs.

The party that night at Gryffindor Towers became one of the most unusual party any of the humans present had ever been too. The party started at seven that evening, the castle elves, along with the house elves that took care of the grounds and the Kings home joined in, the two unicorns also joined them, by eight o clock, there were magical beings of all kinds partying on the Potters huge lawns, Elves, Goblins, Centaurs, House gnomes, fairies, and even a few Leprechauns'. Their were several Phoenix, and other magical animals all celebrating the new life that was expected, but what they were really celebrating was the beginning of a new and brighter future in their world where they would no longer be looked down on by the humans.

At ten thirty Remus Lupin called for silence, as everyone fell quiet and turned to look at him, Remus looked up at the sky and pointed his finger "Look!" he said with tears falling down his cheeks. All eyes turned to see what he was pointing at, and there in the darkening sky was the moon, the full moon. For the first time since he was six years old Remus was able to stand under the moon and look up at it. It was another reason to celebrate, Remus had obviously been free of his curse while in the magic of Avalon and had accepted it, he had however doubted that he would fair so well on their return to their own world.

As he stood with Tonks, Harry, Hermione, and her parents, looking at the thing that he had been so terrified of he took hold of Tonks right hand then turned to face her "Will you marry me Nymphadora Tonks?" he asked.

Tonks was taken by surprise she had not expected him to ever ask her, gaping at him she asked "You mean it?"

Remus chuckled "Yes, I mean it, I love you Tonks, so will you?"

Tonks began to cry as she wrapped herself around him and nodded repeating "Yes, yes, yes, yes, oh yes Remus."

It was after two in the morning when the party began to break up, happy people, beings and creatures started to head for their beds, Harry walked slowly up to their bedroom with Hermione on his arm "I think the world we knew changed tonight," he said as he opened the bedroom door.

"I think you are right Harry, we just need to make sure that nothing goes wrong to spoil things," Hermione said sighing as she removed her shoes, "Are you tired lover?"

Harry looked at her from his side of the bed "Just a little," he replied.

"Well how about coming to bed and making love to me?" Hermione said grinning at him.

Harry James Potter did not need another invitation, lifting the bed cover he slid into centre of the bed, Hermione followed him and gently cuddled her self around him, "Make love to me," she said as she smiled at him.

A/Note, Sorry it is a little short but I think it a good place to end this chapter. I hope you will enjoy it and leave a review, thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer, If I was J.K. Rowling then I would have Dropped Ron from the story, in the real world jealous, angry, greedy, people like Ron don't do well finding and becoming friends of people like Harry, and Hermione would never consider a boy who does little else but shout argue insult and make her cry as a boyfriend.

Marriage Contract.

Part Eight

Three weeks had passed since the battle at Diagon Alley, and according to the intelligence that Harry and the Order of the Phoenix were getting from their different sources, Voldemort was keeping a low profile while he tried to recruit new followers, that battle had cost him dearly and his forces were now weak and running scared. It seemed that the darkest wizard known for several centuries did not have as many followers as had been thought. Not a single death eater had escaped from the Alley; they were either dead or incarcerated in some secret prison, those he had left were getting frightened having heard what had happened to their fellow death eaters.

Harry and his family were sitting around the breakfast bar discussing how they could take the war to Voldemort instead of waiting for Voldemort to strike first and then retaliating. They needed to find where the death eaters were hiding, where their safe houses were, where they bought their supplies, as they finished the meal it was decided that Harry would pay the Goblins a visit later in the day to see if they could help finding the enemy in any way.

The family had just finished breakfast when Helen asked Hermione to join her for a walk and a private chat. Fifteen minutes later after a walk around the garden discussing the flower beds and other sundries both the mother and daughter sat down on a small bench set under a huge copper beech tree.

"Hermione I don't want to sound morbid or defeatist, but have you given any thought about what the future would be like if Harry doesn't come out of this war alive?" Helen asked as she looked deep into her only child's eyes.

"MUM! Harry is not going to lose, he is not going to die, how could you say something like that?" Hermione said rising to leave.

"Hermione sit down, I don't think Harry will lose, nor do I think he will not make it, I am just trying to tell you something," Helen said as she pulled her daughter back onto the bench.

"Well what do you mean mum, it sounds as though you have no faith in him," Hermione said still annoyed at her mother.

"Hermione sweetheart your father and I have been talking quite a lot about this war and Harry and his part in it, we both think you should give Harry a child, then if the worst does happen you will still have a little part of him with you and Harry will have a heir, hopefully you might have a boy so that the Potter name can live on, you should truly think this over, a child will give you both something more to live for, something more to fight for, but it will also give you a future to look forward too if the worst should happen, just think about it," Helen said, she gently patted the back of Hermione's hand then rose from her seat and walked slowly back to the house leaving Hermione to think about what she had said.

Hermione remained sitting where she was under the beech tree, she knew her mother had a good valid point, there were no guarantees that any of them would still be alive when the war ended, she also knew she had been ready for motherhood for several months now, she wanted to be a mother and having Harry's baby was often something she dreamt about, but what would Harry want, would he want to wait till the war was over or would he be ready to be a father while they were still at war, they were still so young yet and had never discussed having a baby, the way Harry felt about this subject was one of the few things she did not know about her husband but she made her mind up to talk to him before they went on their usual training run.

Back in the house Harry and Richard were having more or less the same talk, Harry was in complete agreement with Richard when he talked about the possibility of not making it out of the war alive, he knew that he was the number one target of all Voldemort's minions, he knew he ran a greater risk than anyone else of being killed. It did not take him long to see some sense in what his father in law was saying, he wanted a family and if Hermione agreed he would be more than ready to be a father, he hoped he could be as good a parent as Richard was, because Richard was now the one that he looked up to as the father he never had. Harry made his mind up to talk to Hermione before they went for their training run.

Harry and Hermione entered their bedroom to get changed for their run at the same time, together they both walked to the bed and sat down, "What do you think about starting a family?" they both said together. After they had had a chuckle about their simultaneous and identical question they began to look at the pro's and con's of parenthood during this war, they finally decided that they should not allow Voldemort to rule their future the way he had ruled their past, they both wanted children, a family of their own so they both decided that Hermione would stop taking the contraceptive potion and they would then wait and see if they were blessed with a child. Hermione having changed into her running clothes and shoes went to find her mother and father to let them know of their decision.

After their morning run while Hermione was once again talking to her parents, Harry and Remus made their way to Gringotts to talk with the Goblins. They were met in the foyer by the Goblin called Griphook and led into an opulent office and asked to wait. "Our revered leader Ragnok will be with you shortly," Griphook told them as they took a seat. Just a few seconds later Ragnok entered the room with a huge grin on his face which for a Goblin made him look rather frightening. "My Lord Gryffindor," he said as he took Harry's offered hand and shook it vigorously. Before taking his seat Ragnok pulled a small canvas pouch from one of his pockets and placed it in the centre of the table, then slowly he pushed it toward Harry "You may be interested in the contents My Lord."

Harry picked up the pouch and emptied the contents on the table, a huge smile broke out on his face as he stared at the pieces of a broken locket he recognised it instantly, it had been the last horcrux and now it was just a few broken parts. Harry sat speechless as he realised that his last reason for waiting before taking on Voldemort was lying on the table in front of him.

"Harry do you remember the words of the prophecy, more specifically the part about Voldemort marking you as his equal?" Ragnok asked looking serious.

"Yeah I remember every last detail of the bloody thing, I also remember that old fool Dumbledore wasn't going to tell me about it until I finished at Hogwarts," Harry replied as he remembered the day he had almost destroyed Dumbledore's office.

"Well the Goblin council and our best minds have been discussing the prophecy and we came to a conclusion, how old were you when Voldemort gave you that mark," Ragnok asked giving Harry an odd look.

"Every one knows the answer to that one, I was fifteen months old, why what does that have to do any thing?" Harry replied feeling confused about where this meeting was going.

"Yes, you were still a baby and everyone thinks you survived the killing curse, but there was no one there to see what happened, what if Voldemort never got the chance to cast the curse at you, what if you got your scar when he killed your mother, we believe that Voldemort was banished by your magic's automatic survival mode and without his Horcrux he would have died, we think when he gave you that mark you were his equal in magical power and that power simply tried to destroy the threat to your survival. Like the prophecy says you were his equal, even though you were only fifteen months old. We know that Voldemort as a full grown wizard at the time could not expect an increase in his power, power wise he's the same now as he was on that Halloween seventeen years ago. You Harry were as powerful then as he was, but like all wizards your magic has grown as you have grown, it will continue to grow until you are physically fully grown, your magic is many times stronger now than it was when you were a baby, that's why Voldemort has not been able to best you in all your confrontations, you had the power to finish him you just didn't have the knowledge or experience, now you have both the power and the knowledge. The Goblin council thinks you should think about this, talk it over with your wife and friends then what ever you decide know that the Goblin nation will be with you.

Harry and Remus left the meeting with Ragnok with a lot of thinking to do, Harry knew he was now a very powerful wizard, but that was down to his training, he also knew he would not reach his full potential until he was around twenty one or so. The more he thought about it the more he came to think that the Goblins were right, he had been more than Voldemort's equal when they had met on that Halloween during his first year, how else could anyone explain how he had defeated both Quirrell and Voldemort at the same time.

Remus was having very similar thoughts as he thought through the stories of Harry's encounters with Voldemort, hadn't Harry escaped Voldemort and at least twenty of his best death eaters after forcing the prior Incantatem onto Voldemort's wand during a battle of magical strength in his fourth year at Hogwarts, that one deed alone was something no other wizard had been able to do, not even Dumbledore had had the power to force a curse back into Voldemort's wand, then again in his fifth year Harry had held off twelve death eaters on his own, while his friends all lay around hurt, yes what the Goblins said made a great deal of sense to Remus, especially when he thought back to the battle just three weeks before.

That evening Harry called a family meeting, once everyone was gathered around he asked Remus to tell them all about what the Goblins had discussed and told them, he asked Remus to end up by giving his views on what Ragnok had said. Remus was quite happy to point out the magical power that would have been needed to force a curse back into Voldemort's wand, and he admitted that when Harry had created a corporeal Patronus capable of chasing off 100 Dementors during his third year at Hogwarts, his teachers should have realised that he was out performing any adult they had ever met, even Dumbledore was incapable of performing the same fete with out the help of the school's magic. There were so many things that Harry had done that pointed to his outstanding magical power, things that Tom Riddle could only have dreamt of being able to do on the day he completed his seven years of magical schooling.

Tonks was amazed when she discovered the truth behind all the stories about Harry, most of the tales were pure myth but even those stories did not come close to telling exactly how powerful her young friend really was, she had of course gained some idea of his power while they trained but like Harry she had put it down to their training, she berated herself a little thinking that as a trained Auror she should have noticed.

Kronos agreed with Remus pointing out that the last wizard with power enough to call forth the sword of light had been Godric Gryffindor himself. Hermione had a quick thought about Harry's power in bed but decided to keep that bit of information to herself. She chuckled to her self a little as she had the distinctly un-ladylike thoughts about Harry that accompanied her first thought on mention of her husband's superior power.

At ten that night Hermione stood from the chair she had been sitting in for the past two hours, turning she placed the large book she had been reading on the cushion covering the depression made by her sitting for so long. Harry noticed the look his wife gave him and placed the book of advanced spells and curses at the side of his chair, getting up he joined Hermione in wishing everyone in the room good night. He began to blush when Helen gave him a knowing look and a quick wink; Richard helped to turn Harry's entire face red when he whispered "A boy would be nice."

It did not help to make his blush die down when Hermione whispered in his ear, "Come on superman, let's see just how much power you have in that wand of yours," she then chuckled and began to pull him up the stairs to their bedroom.

At eleven o clock the next morning Harry was standing on the lawn in front of the house watching a sight he had never expected to see again, a very distinct white owl was approaching Potter Towers, she was headed straight for him and he knew it was his friend and familiar Hedwig, the owl they had all thought dead. Hedwig landed on Harry's right shoulder and began to make a fuss over being back with her friend, she pecked gently at his ear then brushed her head up the side of his face, as Hedwig was fussing Harry noticed a note tied to her leg, removing the note he began to read.

"_To whom it may concern, I am today reluctantly releasing this beautiful bird to see if she is fully healed, and capable of flight, if she does not return to me and finds her way to her original owner, then take note, you should take better care of your pet, I found her at the base of the great chestnut outside my house. She was badly injured I hope not from your hands, if it was you that caused those injuries then I ask Merlin to rein curses on you until you learn to treat all beings with respect._

_Ely Daley,_

_Copper Tree farm._

_Surrey_."

Harry having read the note decided he should check out their maps and find out where this Ely Daley lived, he would then pay him a visit and reward him for restoring the friend he thought lost forever. He remembered the battle on the night when the Order of the Phoenix members had collected him from his aunt's house, he remembered the killing curse hitting Hedwig and he remembered how he had watched helplessly as Hedwig's cage fell into the darkness below them. He remembered the three days of misery at the Burrow before they found out that his aunt and uncle being unable to stand being with magical people had moved back to their home in Little Whinging, he remembered how sad he had been as he made his mind up to return to number four Privet Drive so that the wards would remain to protect his only living relatives. Tears ran down his cheeks as he stroked his friend, the one who had shared his hardships as he grew up. He wished for a moment that his other friend who had died that night could be with them once again, calling out "Constant Vigilance."

When Hermione found Harry sitting on the damp lawn with his back to the house she wondered what he was doing, she then heard him talking to some one, someone she could not see, she could not make out his quiet words as she approached him.

"Harry love are you okay?" she asked as she got closer.

Harry turned his head to face her and the first thing she noticed were the tears falling from his eyes, then she noticed the huge smile on his face a second before she saw the little white head that looked at her from in front of him.

Hermione stopped and stared at the owl that had taken flight and was coming toward her, tears of joy filled her eyes just as they had filled Harry's, Hedwig was alive and well, she knew exactly how much Harry had mourned her and she was happy to see his happiness.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer, If I was J.K. Rowling then I would have Dropped Ron from the story, in the real world jealous, angry, greedy, people like Ron don't do well finding and becoming friends of people like Harry and Hermione.

---

Marriage Contract.

---

Part Nine

---

The man Harry had just met on the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron coughed and spluttered as he jerked awake. Harry and Hermione both stared in disbelief as the mans breathing quickly settled down to a normal rhythm, the shock came from the fact that the man they were supposed to meet, Mr. Ely Daley had been hit with the killing curse meant for Harry less than five minutes before. Every one knew that nobody other than Harry Potter ever survived the killing curse, every one that is except the Muggles, and the paramedic who had been driving past in his ambulance. The medic who had just performed C.P.R and given a small electric shock from a portable device, to the man who had collapsed on to the paving in front of them, sat back on his haunches and smiled, he had managed to save a life once again.

Harry and Hermione learned two very important things in the few minutes it had taken for Ely Daley to be struck down by the killing curse fall to the floor and be resuscitated by two Muggles, the first thing that was obvious was that Muggles could not see anything when a curse had been loosed right in front of them, the second thing they learned is that the killing curse was not as fatal as everyone thought it was. Hermione was in study mode as Harry helped Ely into the Leaky Cauldron and to a table, she rushed over to Tom the barman to order the drinks quickly so that she could question Ely.

Thirty minutes later three people arrived on the lawn of Gryffindor house and then quickly made their way into the house. Harry was calling together a family meeting even as they walked into the entrance hall, at the same time Ely was being greeted by a grateful Owl by the name of Hedwig; she landed on his shoulder and nipped gently on his ear affectionately.

While Harry explained to everyone what had happened, Hermione rushed off for her room where she gathered up note books pens and pencils. Five minutes later Hermione was sitting hard at work in the study as she tried to work out all that had happened that morning and why. By the time Harry came to drag his wife down to dinner she had the answer she was looking for.

"Harry the killing curse must stop or shut down the auto response system of the body, that's why when anyone hit by it always has their eyes open wide in a look of shock, now we don't have anyone we can test this on but by my calculations if we can hit the cursed person with a mild electric shock with in the first three or four minutes they should recover rather quickly, all we need now is some simple shocking spell that anyone should be capable of performing, if I can figure that out we will have a huge advantage over Voldemort's death eaters until they realise what we are doing," she said enthusiastically as Harry led her down to the kitchen to eat.

Four days later the Gryffindor Towers library was full of people all tracking through the vast number of books, some even brought back from the main black library for this specific reason. Hermione had them all looking for a spell to help them overcome the killing curse. Harry sat back and looked around tiredly as Winky brought him a butterbeer, both he and Hermione were squashed together on a couch, a large pile of books at the side of each of them, he noticed that most everyone was starting to look tired.

Richard and Helen were sat on a love seat just a few feet away while Kronos and Demeter were sat at the other end of the library searching. They had all joined Hermione on her second day searching and had hardly left the room since, Tonks and Remus had helped a little when they had some free time and were there again both going through huge books, but so far they had had no luck at all, it seemed as though electric was a power that magical people just did not know how to master.

Then a shout of "Hey everyone," from Helen made everyone look up "I think I found something."

As one they all rose and rushed over to Helen, she sat up straight and read out the very simple spell "mitis levitas, it is from 'Amazing The Muggles' by Hereward Balatro , according to this he was a 14th century clown in the kings court. Apparently it is performed without a wand with a simple waggle of a pointed finger."

Harry impatient as always pointed his finger at one of the windows and said "Mitis levitas," a small bolt of lightning shot from his finger and the window exploded outward, "Oops," he said as everyone looked at him "Maybe a little less power, don't you think."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her husband and after repairing the window, she tried the spell her self, the mild bolt of electricity left her finger and dissipated when it hit the window pane.

With a little practice all the magical people in the library could perform the spell, Hermione then set about teaching the house elves while Kronos and Demeter taught the true elves. With practice it was not long before Harry, Hermione, Remus and Tonks could all cast various amounts of lightning silently, the small amounts were practically invisible to the human eye as they travelled so fast, tiny bolts of electricity darted from their finger tips and hit exactly where they were pointing. All they needed now was some way to work out the amount of power they would need to revive someone hit by the killing curse. It was left to Hermione to work out all the final details of where they would hit someone with the spell and just how much power they should use.

They got their chance to try the spell out the following weekend when they were called to help against a death eater raid in Hogsmeade. Ten death eaters had attacked some of the Hogwarts prefects who were enjoying a quiet day away from the school in the village shops.

While Harry and Remus took on and defeated all the death eaters that had not yet left, Hermione and Tonks successfully used the spell on one death eater who had been hit by cross fire from his own side, plus four students and two shop owners, several other injuries were quickly seen too when Madam Pomfrey arrived.

While fighting the remaining death eaters both Harry and Remus used the lightening spell to stun their opponents simply because their shields did not stop it from working, hitting two death eaters with the single spell Harry noticed that while the one who got the majority of the lightening bolt was stunned, the other death eater seemed to be struggling for a few minutes before he could cast another curse. It did not seem too important at the time while they fought hard to quell the attackers.

When Minerva McGonagall arrived and heard about the lightening spell, she had Poppy Pomfrey Obliviate every one who had witnessed Hermione and Tonks perform the miracles. "We don't want Voldemort learning about it," she announced as Poppy gave her an odd look when she was told what she had to do.

Hermione's birthday, Halloween, and all the days between had come and gone, every one at Gryffindor Towers was feeling the strain of being constantly ready to fight with nothing actually happening. No trace of Voldemort or his minions could be found, it was as though they had simply dropped off the face of the earth, still they had to be ready, Harry knew that his next meeting with Mr. Tom Riddle would be his last one, he had every intention of seeing to it that Riddle would be the one who did not walk away from it.

The wizarding world out side Gryffindor Towers was getting complacent, the fact there were no attacks lulled the wizarding population in to thinking they were now safe once again.

Businesses on Diagon Alley were booming again as people started to venture out to do their shopping, decorations for Christmas were put up and still there had been no attacks. Those living at Gryffindor Towers were getting seriously worried if they could not find Riddle soon they all knew there would be a devastating attack made by his minions before much more time had passed.

Harry and Hermione received an invitation to a Yule ball at Longbottom Manor; the invite included all the family plus King Kronos and his wife. Remus received an invite for him and Tonks, and though they all thought it foolish to hold a Ball with Riddle still a threat, they all accepted the invite because they did not want Riddle winning by having them all holed up in their homes in fear of a possible attack, if anything happened at the Longbottom's then Harry and Hermione wanted to be there to help protect their friend Neville and his guests.

December was spent shopping as a group, as they all went to be fitted for new robes, and to do their Christmas shopping at the same time, they all stayed together as couples as they shopped, it seemed too risky to split up into singles just to buy presents for each other.

While they were in Diagon Alley Harry and Hermione visited an odd little curiosity shop at the very end of the Alley, neither had been quite so far along the Alley before and the shop seemed to beckon to them from across the road. Once safely in the shop they split up and began to look around, checking out the dusty collection of oddities and ancient bits and bobs. When they had finished looking around and made their way to the counter to pay for their goods Harry chuckled at his wife who had found several battered and torn old books.

Later that day as the family all sat around relaxing they were all rudely aroused from their sleepy states by a shout of triumph from Hermione, who had been quietly reading some of the ancient tomes purchased in the curiosity shop.

"YES! Yes! Yes! Yes," she shouted as she almost made Harry jump out of his skin.

As soon as their peaceful and drowsy states were disrupted everyone gathered around the excited young woman as she eagerly showed them an ancient spell and ritual to allow someone with enough power to tap into and use elemental earth magic. Magic that would allow them to find Tom Riddle and his followers as long as they were on land and not at sea.

----

Harry woke up with a start at four in the morning and after thinking about what had woken him for a few seconds he woke Hermione by kissing her shoulder and then moving to her neck. After waking his wife in such a pleasant manner Harry remembered why he was awake, during one of his many dreams about Hermione a fight developed on the dance floor they were dancing on, why they were dancing he could not remember, why they were dancing in the nude was equally vague. What he did remember was the death eater not being able to cast a spell for a while after the electric shock he got from his fellow death eater turned into Voldemort who stood there violently swinging his wand around at all of them and nothing happening. Even in his sleep his brain had realized a way to stop Voldemort long enough to finish him off.

At breakfast that morning the friends that all lived at Gryffindor Towers all agreed that they would attend the Longbottom ball just as they had planned and then between Christmas and new year they would use the method Hermione had discovered to find Riddle and his hide out, they would then enlist all the help they could muster and go on the offensive against the death eaters and their maniac boss.

The day of the ball arrived, the weather was bitterly cold and it had snowed on and off all day. Hermione when she was dressed in her ball gown was, according to Harry, a vision to set eyes on, with beauty to put Venus the goddess of love in the shade. Harry having given his wife such a compliment was then copied as all the other males in the group came up with similar words to describe their own partners.

Using a portkey they left Gryffindor Towers at eight pm. Their arrival at Longbottom manor was welcomed by their old school friend Neville and his girl friend Luna Lovegood. Neville directed them to a table that was reserved for Harry Hermione and friends.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer, If I was J.K. Rowling then I would have Dropped Ron from the story, in the real world jealous, angry, greedy, people like Ron don't do well finding and becoming friends of people like Harry and Hermione.

---

Marriage Contract.

---

Part 10

The night at the Longbottoms ball had been one of the best nights the people from Gryffindor Towers had had for quite some time. Harry and Hermione had truly enjoyed their dancing and before they knew it, it was almost midnight. Time to watch over the guests as they all departed. By half past midnight Harry stood with Neville in the dance hall wishing him good night when they received the emergency floo call. St Mungo's hospital was under attack from dozens of death eaters.

Harry, Hermione, Tonks, Remus, Kronos and Demeter rushed from Longbottom mansion and still dressed up in their finery they apparated straight to Diagon Alley, as close to St Mungo's as they dared. As the group took up their battle formation they could hear the spell fire and the screams of people being tortured just for fun.

Harry led the attack on the death eaters using the lightening spell as powerful as he could make it. He watched as at least ten of the twenty or so Death eaters guarding the outside of the building fell to the ground electrocuted. They were either dead or unconscious; it did not bother him much either way.

Hermione, Tonks, and Remus having seen just how devastating the lightening spell could be in combat started to use it to take out the remaining death eaters that kept them from getting inside the hospital to help the people that were either sick or injured.

They all quickly learned that the spell they were using was just as unstoppable as the Avada Kedava, and it could be made just as lethal or with enough power behind it, even more lethal. When they reached the entrance they automatically split up into their usual teams, the men went to the right while the women went to the left giving them the opportunity to catch the first batch of death eaters in a deadly crossfire. As they worked their way into the corridors all six of them drew their swords using a combination of wand sword and feet they made quick work of Voldemort's untrained killers rapists and thieves.

Hermione and Tonks fought their way up to the permanent spell damage ward only to arrive in time to see five death eaters cast the killing curse at the helpless patients. When Hermione saw Neville's mother simply sitting on her bed, her mind no longer in this world, she tried to block the killing curse aimed at her by banishing a bedside cabinet in front of it. But it was just a fraction to late; the totally unsuspecting woman was hit full in the chest and fell back, her lifeless eyes staring emptily at the ceiling.

Hermione saw red at that moment and brandishing her sword she yelled her battle cry and rushed at the surprised death eaters. Four of the death eaters fell to her sword before they realised exactly what was happening. The fifth death eater had just raised her wand pointing it at Hermione's back when Tonks thrown sword hit her in her left temple and continued through to come out of her right temple.

"Good throw Tonk's, and thanks," Hermione said as she started to perform the spell that would restart the patients' auto system again. As they were revived both the Longbottoms woke with a scream as though they were waking from a nightmare. Neither Hermione nor Tonk's thought anything of it until a rather feeble voice came from Alice Longbottom as she asked what had happened. Frank Longbottom struggled to sit up, his body weak because of lack of use. Tonks and Hermione stared in disbelief as they watched the two Longbottoms who had been thought beyond help as they tried to work out where they were.

On one of the lower floors Remus ducked as Lucius Malfoy threw his lethally poisoned dagger at him, as Remus rolled out of the way of Lucius's follow up spell. Harry pointed his wand at the dagger and with a simple flick of his wand he banished it back toward Malfoy. Malfoy not seeing it coming actually stepped in front of the poisoned missile, it hit him in his throat spinning him around and knocking him over and onto the floor. The poison was so fast in its painful work he died before he knew what it was that had hit him.

Kronos was having a little fun of his own as he and Demeter directed a small group of the hospital house elves. The little house elves kept popping up and stealing the wands straight out of the death eaters' hands. The elf King then simply walked along the corridors and wards stunning the surprised death eaters. Many of them had back up wands but the shock of seeing a little elf appear and then steal their wand seemed to scramble their brains. Kronos laughed at quite a few who were actually standing staring at their empty hand.

Neville Longbottom and his grandmother arrived in the main reception of St Mungo's via the floo net work. For a minute or so they both looked around at the bodies strewn around. Most of them were death eaters but a few had obviously been either hospital staff or patients. Gathering their wits they entered the stair well and together they fought their way up to the fourth floor leaving behind them eight seriously injured followers of Voldemort.

Both Neville and his grandmother were shocked when they entered the permanent spell damage ward. Hermione Granger was sitting on Alice's bed explaining to the two Longbottom patients where they were and how long they had been there.

Hermione, Tonks, and Alice turned to look who had entered the ward when Frank said "Mum!"

There were tears in all their eyes when Alice and Frank were introduced to their son Neville by the Longbottom matriarch. Hermione wiping her eyes gestured to Tonks that it was time to leave the ward and continue what they had started. By the time the six from Gryffindor Towers met up back in the main reception there were sixty seven dead or captured death eaters. Eighteen patients and five Aurors were dead. Several nurses and Healers were also among the dead. Between them Harry, Hermione their friends and the Aurors had prevented a complete massacre and struck yet another heavy blow to Voldemort and his followers.

It was a very tired group of people who wished the Longbottoms well before returning home to take a well deserved shower and then climbing into their beds.

It was as Harry, Hermione and the Grangers sat down to a late afternoon tea that a rather handsome eagle owl arrived carrying a letter for Hermione. The letter was from Neville expressing his undying thanks for giving him his mum and dad back, he also requested her to ask Harry if he would be willing to train himself and Luna Lovegood so that they would be better prepared for their next meeting with death eaters.

After a family conference that even included Dobby and Winky, talking about training others now that they themselves had been fully trained. Harry readily agreed with his wife and the others when it was suggested that they train anyone they could trust who wished to join in the fight to stem the evil that was Voldemort and his pureblood thugs.

Hermione sent Neville his reply along with a portkey for him and Luna to use on the following Monday morning at five am. She also suggested to him that he mention the training to any of their old school friends that he might be in contact with. Over the next few days it seemed that Neville had spread the word, because Hermione received letters from practically every one they knew from Hogwarts.

Madam Bones head of the DMLE even sent them a letter to ask if they would be willing to train a special squad of Aurors in their fighting tactics. All those that wrote to them received a positive reply from either Harry or Hermione as well as a portkey. All that is except Madam Bones, Harry replied to her letter to inform her that he was not willing to compromise the safety of his family by having anyone from the ministry he still did not trust or support know where they lived.

Dobby and Winky were kept busy all week preparing rooms for their soon to arrive guests. Hermione worked out a training schedule for their volunteers, and they were fully prepared when the new guests began to arrive on the Monday morning.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer, If I was J.K. Rowling then I would have Dropped Ron from the story, in the real world jealous, angry, greedy, people like Ron don't do well finding and becoming friends of people like Harry and Hermione.

---

Marriage Contract.

---

Part 11

.

As the volunteers began arriving Harry was taking a slow walk around the garden. Occasionally he pointed his finger at the ground and absentmindedly sent small lightening bolts into the grass. He was joined by Hermione's dad as he walked past the back door. Their greeting was casual as they fell in side by side, walking in a comfortable silence. Their relationship had moved from father in law and son in law to what was more like a father son relationship. As Harry let loose another tiny bolt of lightening at the grass dad's eyes lit up.

"Harry, you know how you started using that spell to save lives thanks to some muggle technology?" he asked as they continued the walk.

"Mmmmm, came in really useful. I don't think I ever saw Neville so happy in all the time I've known him," Harry replied wondering where the conversation was leading them.

"Yes well, how far do you think a spell cast at force can travel before it either fades or just goes off target?" Richard wanted to know.

"I'm not sure dad, maybe twenty or twenty five metre's why?" Harry replied getting interested in where Richard was leading with this line of questioning.

"You suppose you could find out. Get an average, I don't mean you or Hermione, maybe not even Remy or Tonks, all too powerful, but if we were to get one or two of the slightly above average and one or two below average wizards or witches from the volunteers to find out. See how their accuracy is over a distance. See if the power drops, that sort of thing." Richard said still being a tiny bit vague about what he had in mind.

"Dad come on out with it, what are you plotting, what's going on in that amazing brain of yours," Harry said with a slight chuckle.

"Well I want to get in on this fight properly, me and Helen both. It really gets to me you know when my daughter and son go off to fight the bad guys, and Helen and me have to sit praying for you all to return, or stand back and keep out of trouble while you protect us. I thought if maybe I took the muggle borns that arrive and teach them how to use a rifle of some sort. Well we might be effective in stopping more of the bad guys getting to their targets in the first place. We know that muggle electrical stuff won't work where there is magic, but rifles are just mechanical, there's no reason they should not work. We know for a fact that none of the magical shields could stop a bullet. Come to think of it I don't think any of those ward things could either. You know the Prime minister; have a word with him Harry. See if he can supply us with some guns and ammo, then I can take the muggle borns and we could form some sort of squad or something." Dad said watching for Harry's reaction rather closely.

Harry and Hermione with help from Tonks and Remus and the others had spent a month teaching the fifteen mainly sixth and seventh year students out of the twenty five who had turned up at the castle. They placed a lot of emphasis on getting physically fit whilst teaching them all up to roughly just above NEWT level standards. As the month ended and the fifteen students all returned home, a few of them to spend a little time with their families before the new term at Hogwarts started, others went back to job hunting. While with Harry's suggestion in their minds just a handful started up establishments like the muggles had for teaching martial arts, only they taught DADA.

Harry, Hermione and the Grangers wished the departing students all good luck as they flooed from the castle. Some went to Diagon Alley others flooed directly to their homes, Seamus Finnegan and Susan Bones were the last to leave and promised Harry that they would teach what they had learned to anyone at Hogwarts who wanted to help protect the school if the death eaters ever attacked. With a final hug to their new friends the family were once again left in peace.

Ten volunteers remained. Dad named them the Grangers rangers, much to the laughter of the magical people in the tower. Richard and Helen had trained the ten people and them selves with the aid of a government issue hand book how to use a rifle and care for it correctly. There were five muggle borns including Mandy Brocklehurst and Colin Creevey, and five purebloods and half bloods. Neville Longbottom, Alicia Spinet, Katie Bell, and Luna Lovegood were among the ten volunteers. All ten of them had chosen to remain at the towers and to fight with the Potters if they went into battle.

That evening as the two Potters sat alone in the library Hermione sat on Harry's lap and after settling her self nice and comfortable, she pulled his head to hers and kissed him rather passionately for quite a while before she spoke "I have a little bit of news for daddy Potter," she whispered in his ear as she snuggled even closer to him than she already was.

It took Harry several seconds to work out just who daddy Potter was, and what Hermione had just said, he then leapt up nearly tipping Hermione from his lap and onto the floor, he managed to catch her before she actually fell, and then having steadied her on her feet, he promptly fainted landing ungracefully on his back.

Helen Granger walked into the library and looked on in horror as she found Hermione knelt on the floor holding the unconscious Harry's head in her lap. Rushing forward and kneeling next to her daughter she asked "What happened, was it a curse, a spell what?"

"No mum. This, is the reaction of my wonderful, brave, death defying husband to being told he's going to be a dad," Hermione said chuckling as she looked down on Harry's sleep like state, "mind you perhaps I should not have just snuck it up on him like that."

Before Hermione knew what was happening Helen had dragged her into a tight hug and was congratulating her. It was the quiet thud of Harry's head hitting the floor again as his head slipped from her lap that made both women turn to look at him. He was once more lying flat out on the floor, his head having hit hard when it dropped from Hermione's lap as Helen hugged her. Both women suddenly began to laugh and seemed unable to stop. The laughter brought more people into the library. They in turn joined in the laughter when told why Harry was lying on the floor completely out to the world.

Harry came too to find himself lying on the library floor, he wondered for several seconds how he had got there and then he remembered. He was going to be a dad. Listening at the laughter surrounding him he wondered if he would ever get to live this humiliation down. Taking a breath he started to sit up to find his grinning wife and the rest of the assorted guests looking down at him.

"So daddy Potter are you fit to face the world again?" she asked with a loud chuckle.

"Aw, c'mon Hermione you shocked me, whispering it in my ear like that without warning," he was saying as he got up. Then a look of realisation seemed to come into his eyes "We're having a baby?" he asked seemingly amazed.

"Yes Harry love, that's what usually makes a mummy and daddy," Hermione said still chuckling at Harry's look of sheer amazement as though this were the first ever baby in the history of the world.

The spontaneous party that developed that evening brightened everyone's day making even the ten volunteers feel like a part of the family of Potter. The party stretched on until eleven thirty when Hermione decided it was time to retire for the night and she was taking her husband with her, "I need to remind him how mummy's and daddy's are made," she chuckled as they left the rest to continue with out them.

At around eleven the following morning Hermione and Tonks finally Traced Voldemort's hiding place. It seemed he was holed up on a disused army training camp. A rather small one according to the map. Their biggest problem with planning an attack on the location was the fact that the camp was in the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees on all sides, there was just one road that led in and out of the west side.

From among the volunteers to check the site out, and to work out a battle plan Remus and Dobby were chosen. Remus because of his retained abilities from his werewolf time and Dobby as a means of instant extraction should it be needed.

The two days Remus and Dobby were gone seemed to be like several life times for Tonks who had wanted to go with her man. Harry and Hermione were not faring much better and nor were the two Grangers. The relief that flooded through the castle living quarters with the safe return of the two well liked and respected fighters could almost be tasted it was so strong. No one had any doubts about their skills but they were paying a visit to what could well be one of the most well protected death eaters places in Britain.

With their information passed on all they needed to do now was prepare and wait for the right time. A time when they knew for sure Riddle would be at the camp.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer, If I was J.K. Rowling then I would have Dropped Ron from the story, in the real world jealous, angry, greedy, people like Ron don't do well finding and becoming friends of people like Harry and Hermione.

---

Marriage Contract.

---

Part 12.

Plans were drawn up by Harry and the others to use muggle weapons on the death eaters in the old army camp, simply because the only part of their fighting force that would be able to get close enough to the camp site to use their magic were the two flying warriors Hermione and Tonks. It did not take an Einstein to figure out that the two women could not take on the bulk of Voldemort's forces themselves.

Harry and all his little army split into pairs and spread out around the edges of Voldemort's hide away. The elves along with some Goblin help placed anti portkey and anti disapparation wards around the entire area of the camp, while Harry, Hermione, Tonks, and Remus placed muggle repelling charms all around the outer area. The last thing they wanted was for any local muggles to turn up and get killed or be held as hostages.

As what Harry hoped was the final battle got underway when he launched a grenade into the nearest guard post he thought of Hermione, pregnant yet still refusing to leave him and was standing by his side, and he prayed that this was not the last day break they would see together.

It was not many minutes before the death eaters knew they did not stand a chance of surviving, they had no idea who or how many people were surrounding them or what weapons they were using that caused such devastating explosions to tear through their ranks killing many and injuring dozens at a time. They could not see their attackers and they could not get close enough to use their wands. Five minutes after the muggle explosives began to annihilate their defences, death eaters through out the camp began to throw down their wands and hold their hands up in surrender.

In the centre of the camp an enraged Voldemort lost his grip on himself and his tenuous grip on reality snapped, he began to cast killing curses at everyone he could see. The battle at the centre then took a strange twist as the death eaters Voldemort was screaming at to kill Potter while sending killing curses at them turned on him and began what for them was a battle for survival against their now apparently insane leader.

When Harry and his small band moved into the camp, stunning and binding every death eater that had surrendered just to be sure they could not change their minds, they could hear a fierce battle still being waged some where toward the centre parade ground. When they arrived on the outer edge of the parade ground they came across the odd scene of Voldemort pinned down in a wash house, the only concrete building in the old war department camp. Around thirty death eaters were firing just about every spell they could as they tried to rid them selves of the mad man that was screaming crazy orders at them.

Harry stood with his close family and watched the battle from the safety of the huts that surrounded the parade ground. Slowly the death eaters began to cause so much damage to the wash house that it collapsed on top of the mad man inside. As they watched their former lord and master disappear in a cloud of dust the remaining death eaters let out a collective sigh of relief. They all spun around when the clear voice of Harry Potter called on them to surrender. To make the point of the futility of fighting on, Remus threw a grenade over to the far side of the wash house where it exploded with a deafening sound.

The death eaters led by the remains of Voldemort's inner circle began to drop their wands and reached their hands high above their heads. It seemed the war was over at last until they noticed the rubble of the wash house begin to move.

As every one but Harry was moved back away from the pile of concrete and dust that had been the main wash house, Voldemort foaming at the mouth and looking like some kind of demented monster from a 1950's horror movie pulled him self to his feet. On seeing Harry standing in front of him Voldemort tried to use wandless spells to kill his hated enemy. When that failed the demented Tom Riddle dropped to his hands and knees and scrabbled around in the rubble in search of his wand. Tom did not seem to notice that his wand was broken as he pointed it at Harry while Harry stood watching though ready to move instantly if he had too.

The huge flash of light and the roar of thunderous noise that accompanied Voldemort's scream of "CRUCIO," surprised everyone, when they had all stopped blinking to clear their eyes from the spots that were imprinted on their retinas for a short time, they looked to see Voldemort staring at the stumps of what had moments before been his hands. Both arms were blown off just below the elbow. Harry watched his nemesis as he tried to use the damaged wand and he knew what would happen; he had seen it before in an eerily similar move made by Lockhart.

Slowly Harry raised his wand and with a silent spell he hit Voldemort with a stunner and then he bound the injured dark lord in chains and sealed his wounds so there could never be any possibility for him to have hands like the one Wormtail had had. Of Voldemort's army of over four hundred and fifty marked death eaters only seventy survived the battle or the journey to the hospital. All of them were sentenced to death and sent through the veil of death.

With the power of the people behind him Harry made sure that Voldemort was sentenced to death by the Wizengamot. Voldemort was sentenced to be hanged publically in Diagon Alley, the first public hanging in more than two hundred years. An armless Tom Riddle, known to the wizarding world as Lord Voldemort, was rather barbarically hung outside the ministry with the knowledge that his insurance policies had all been cashed in when Harry described the destruction of each horcrux in detail. Voldemort went to the hastily made gallows struggling with his escort whilst screaming for mercy, mercy that no one was willing to give to the evil wizard who had caused so much death and destruction. Voldemort died hated and alone, left to hang around for more than a week as a warning to any one who thought of being the next dark lord.

Less than two month after what Harry, Hermione and the vast majority of the worlds wizarding population thought was the end of the war. Harry began to receive hundreds of letters, not from fans or people thanking him, but from muggle born people who were begging for his help.

He got quite a surprise when he received a letter and a cutting from the daily prophet from Rita Skeeter among the pleas for help. The cutting was from the little read part of the paper that was devoted to muggle sports. Hidden between two stories about muggle basket ball results was notification of a law the Wizengamot had passed a few days earlier. The law called the Pureblood marriage law, made it a crime punishable by a ten year term in Azkaban for any muggle born male to marry a pureblood, it also made it a crime for a muggle born to claim or receive anything bequeathed in a pureblood's will. Rita had ringed it in red, her comment 'The war goes on' caused Harry and Hermione call a meeting of all those who had fought with them against the death eaters.

It seemed the war had changed nothing, purebloods were still lording it over the rest of wizarding Britain, but the purebloods were in for a nasty surprise when Harry, Ragnok, Kronos, Mangorian and several other beings declared war on the pureblood dominated ministry of magic in a letter to the prophet.

_We the down trodden sentient people's of Britain call upon all pureblood members and workers of the ministry to resign their posts on or before the first of next month lest we declare war up on you. To the corrupt and evil members of the Wizengamot, we the sentient beings give you just two weeks to take what clothes and possessions you can carry and leave the country or suffer for your evil ways. Muggle borns and other sentient beings will no longer bow to the pureblood evil that pervades this society. We openly declare war on all pureblood bigotry. I Harry James Potter call on all Muggle born and those of the old families who do not support the supremacist belief to stand and fight for equality for all sentient magical beings. Stand with us who rid the world of Voldemort, or stand against us, make your choice for there will be no middle ground. _

_Harry. J. Potter. _

It seemed it was going to be a longer struggle to rid their world of Voldemort's ideology, it was going to take more than simply getting rid of the leaders of the dark forces. Harry now knew that with the power of the people behind him he had to continue the fight for freedom for all in the magical world. Replacing the corruption in the government was going to be a long hard fight which both he and Hermione were determined to win.


End file.
